Tina & Elephants

My friend Tina & her mom came to visit me last week. They arrived on the 20th & we spent that first day relaxing, getting foot massages, and shopping. The next day we went up to Doi Sutep Temple outside of Chaing Mai (I've posted pictures of the temple already so I'm not going to do it here).

The next day, we went to visit an elephant camp about an hour outside of Chaing Mai. We were the first ones there so Tina & her mom got an elephant ride in (I skipped out as I've already done it). Then they brought the elephants by for "feeding."

Then they got a bath.

Then we went to the "show." Here's one of the elephants raising their flag.

Then they had a parade.

And took a nap.

Displayed amazing feats of balance by walking on a log.

Did some work.

Painted a picture.

And played us some music.

After the show, we headed over to the animal hospital to try to find Motala. Motala was working in Cambodia when she stepped on a landmine & shredded her foot. She walked to Thailand & found help. They had to amputate her foot & they fit her with a prosthesis. Tina's mom had seen Motala when she was here back in 2002 & wanted to check up on her. So we set off for the elephant hospital. We found a sick elephant.

And some babies.

But no Motala. So I asked some of the elephant trainers & they told us she was at the hospital. So we went back to the hospital & I asked there. They pointed up this really steep hill so we started walking. We had gotten about 2/3 of the way up when a guy on a motorcycle stopped and asked where we were going. We told him that we were trying to find Motala & he pointed back down the hill to the hospital. So we went back down and I asked someone else at the hospital. They told me that she was at another hospital about 500 meters up the hill (the same hill we had just climbed up). As we seemed to be getting the run-around, we headed back to where they put on the elephant show so that I could ask someone in English. We were told that Motala had been moved to the Royal Stables and was not allowed out in public or for the public to visit her. This was pretty frustrating as we had just spent an hour looking for her. So we got on the tram to head out of the park. I could tell that Tina's mom was pretty upset...she really wanted to see Motala, so I gave it another try at the front ticket office. They told me that she was at another hospital & that our driver could take us. The driver went to ask for directions then we headed back into the park. Apparently there are two elephant hospitals right next to each other. The big one that everyone goes to is sponsored by the Thai government. The other hospital is privately run & they are the ones that have Motala. Here she is without her prosthesis.

The surgery to remove her leg made the Guinness Book of World records for the most vets involved any surgical procedure.

Another look at her shoulder harness.Apparently the run-around that we received trying to find Motala was not unusual. When trying to find her, people have been told that she was dead, that they can't see her, or that she was no longer at the hospital. The hospital has received threats & has had a number of suspicious fires set on their grounds. If you would like to find out more information, or would like to help a sick elephant, you can visit www.elephants-soraida.com