Re-wilding Elephants in Northern Thailand.

Thong Dee, who’s name translates to Pure Gold, enjoying a walk in the forest around Huay Pakkkoot. Thong Dee had previously been used as a logging elephant and then in tourist camps before coming home to Huay Pakkoot.

What do you think when I say Elephants in Thailand?

Elephants are revered in Thailand, they have always had a special place in Thai culture and religion, there is even a Thai National Elephant Day on March 13th. Throughout history, Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) have been used in royal and religious ceremonies, warfare, and logging. With the ban on logging in 1989, a new way to monetise elephants had to be found; enter elephant tourist camps.

When you think of elephants in Thailand, I am sure you picture elephant rides, bathing them in water and talking selfies with them. Sadly, to get to the stage for this to be safe for humans, elephants have undergone unethical and cruel treatment, such as being poked and prodded with sharp objects, females being overfed to make them placid and causing obesity, and males being underfed to stop them going into musth, meaning they are severely underweight. At a lot of so-called ‘elephant sanctuaries,’ you are offered the chance to bathe the elephants, are told they love going in the water, and that they cannot feel the cold because they have thick skin. While elephants do like the water on their own terms, they do not like being forced into the water multiple times a day, especially during the northern Thailand cold season. I have seen elephants shiver from the cold and can say from first hand observation that elephants choose not to enter water bodies during the cold season when given freedom of movement, however they do love it during the hot season.

Nhong May enjoying a hose down and mud bath on her own terms in the hot season heat.

Turning Tide

Thankfully, the tide seems to be turning in Thailand and many locals are seeing the advantage to elephant eco-tourism and conservation. One such place is the small Karen hill tribe village of Huay Pakkoot in the Chiang Mai Province of Northern Thailand. Home to around four hundred villagers, who have lived in the area for over three hundred years since settling here after migrating from Myanmar (formally Burma). The community owns and looks after two thousand acres of conservation forest, which are home to many species, including the endangered white-handed gibbon.

The view of the mountains at sunset from Huay Pakkoot.

Huay Pakkoot and Its Main Characters

During the Covid-19 pandemic, all elephant tourist camps closed and returned elephants to their villages. With no income to care for the elephants, one villager, Satit Trachookwamdee (otherwise known as Dee), decided to set up the non-profit organisation Huay Pakkoot Elephant Community Foundation (HPECF). Having worked with GVI (a company offering volunteering opportunities) in the village for years prior to this, Dee had a foundation of knowledge to set the foundation up and how to run it in the best way for the elephants.

Satit Trachookwamdee ‘Dee’, the founder of Huay Pakkoot Elephant Community Foundation.

Around sixty elephants are owned by families in the village, although many of these are unfortunately still in camps around Thailand, the aim is to bring as many back as they can to live in the forests around the village under the protection of the foundation. At present, eight elephants and their mahouts are with the foundation.

HPECF offers tourists and school groups the chance to stay in the village in custom built accommodation or in homestays and to encounter the elephants through eco-tourism. This is a hands-off experience, and the goal is to observe the elephants in their natural habitat from a respectful distance while hiking through the forest with them leading the way.

Mother and Daughter Kah Moon and Lah Lah enjoying some lush greenery in the forests around Huay Pakkoot.

Villagers who look after the elephants are called mahouts and they form an incredibly strong bond with their elephant charges, who are more like family to them. Elephants that live in the village are classed as semi-wild, as they are still cared for by their mahouts and, for their own safety, have to be tied up by one ankle at night to stop them encountering hazards such as that caused by infrastructure (roads) and farming (pesticides). Elephants are taught how to break these ties if they need to. Unfortunately, during my stay in the village between November 2022 and April 2023, one young male elephant broke free from his restraint while in musth and ingested a cocktail of pesticides, which caused massive heart failure and he passed away.

Bhundhi with his mahout, Chat. Bhundhi is eating banana tree leaves, one of his favourite snacks. He often saves some for later by tucking it behind his tusks.

Dee Dee, the young male elephant that passed away after ingesting pesticides.

Problems Faced by Elephants, and the Solutions.

Since Covid-19 closed down the elephant camps, one of the villages main sources of income, they had to turn to other means of revenue. Corn farming became the main source of income and is still increasingly taking up more land around the area. Corn farming is a very inefficient farming method, as it has to be planted in rows and each stalk only yields one piece of corn. This, along with the subsistence farming of rice, is causing rapid deforestation in the area. HPECF is trying to work with villagers to decrease the need for corn farming and in turn reclaim the land through reforestation.

A Karen villager from Huay Pakkoot harvesting corn.

Karen villagers from Huay Pakkoot harvesting rice.

As mentioned with the death of Dee Dee, a big problem elephants face is from farmers leaving plastic and other waste around fields that the elephants may travel through. HPECF and GVI are trying to work with villagers to educate them about the need to keep the environment clear of waste. A recycling and waste scheme has been set up around the village with bins available at certain locations and waste clean-ups organised weekly with volunteers.

Following the harvesting season, fields are often burned to clear them of stubble. This well-known phenomenon has become known world-wide as the ‘Burning Season’ and has led to Chiang Mai becoming the worlds’ most polluted city. Taking place between February and May every year, the smoke from the fires causes massive health issues for both people and elephants from inhaling toxic fumes. On top of this, due the season being extremely hot and dry, these fires can often spread, causing unchecked wildfires in the forests. The sound of trees exploding and the orange glow day and night, can be very ominous. Although, this practice does not seem to be going anywhere soon, there are hopes that new government policies will be introduced in the future and that educating remote communities on the impacts of the fires on the climate and human health, will drive change.

LuLu standing in a burnt-out field and dusting with ash. Dusting is the action of throwing dust (in this case ash) over themselves to help keep cool in the heat and protect their skin from the UV rays of the sun.

Symbiotic Benefits of Elephant Eco-Tourism

Through the eco-tourism model of the HPECF, the village has benefited from more touristic footfall, causing a ripple effect of diversification. More shops, cafes and restaurants have opened up in and around the village. One major success story is Roots Coffee. Initially having opened a coffee shop for volunteers to enjoy, Root is now an established stop on the Mae Hong Son motorbike loop, seeing tourists stop daily for a sip of his famed coffee drinks. Root harvests his organically grown coffee berries from his back garden three times a year. His hand picks the best beans once they have been dried and roasted and sells these globally. He also offers a homestay with glorious views of the valley. Another villager, Bolah, has a café and a restaurant, serving authentic Thai and Karen delicacies, frequently visited by volunteers, villagers, and tourists alike. Several shops have also popped up around the village, selling snacks and drinks.

Root picking coffee berries from his organically grown trees.

Huay Pakkoot is a well-known location for tourists to stay in a homestay, where they can live like a local and experience the culture. Villagers affectionately refer to tourists and volunteers as ‘golah,’ meaning foreigner. Golahs are introduced to a local village custom called a ‘Geeju Ceremony.’ The majority of the community in Huay Pakkoot are Buddhist Animist and believe the world is populated by spirits. Geejus are conducted by village elders or healers and involve the tying of string around your wrist as a blessing is said over you. The tying of the Geeju string prevents spirits from wondering away from your body.

The Geeju string tying ceremony performed by village elders.

Karen women are expert fabric weavers. Another benefit of increased tourism to the village is the chance for the women to hawk their goods, which include earrings, bags, skirt fabric and intricate tops, which are made with dedication and the highest attention to detail. Some of these items can take months to make.

Villagers are also able to lead workshops with volunteers and make an income through this. One village elder, Patti Johneh, is the village ‘medicine man’ and often leads hikes through the forest pointing out plants and their health purposes for both humans and elephants. He also occasionally hosts tea parties where volunteers have the opportunity to drink teas made from some of these plants and hear stories of Patti Johneh’s times in the forest, including times he encountered big predators in the past, which are sadly no longer in the area.

Patti Johneh, the ‘medicine man’ and village elder leading a medicine hike through the forest. Patti, meaning uncle, is a term of respect used for addressing village elders.

The Future

Seeing elephants free and able to roam as they please through the environment, is a joyful experience. Following on from the success and continually progression of Huay Pakkoot, and their elephant re-wilding story, other villages in the area have also started to bring their elephants home with their own eco-tourism models in place. An example of this is Huay Pakkoots’ neighbouring village of Baan Naklang, with their elephant sanctuary ‘Kindred Spirit.’

Jungle peering through long grass in the forest.

How You Can Help

HPECF currently has eight elephants under the foundation out of sixty-five village owned elephants. Help them bring more elephants home and out of the clutches of tourist camps by visiting their website https://www.huaypakkootelephants.com/about and booking a stay or making a donation. You can also visit the Kindred Spirit based in Baan Naklang, to find out more, follow the link to their website https://kselephantsancturary.com/.

Before visiting any elephant tourist camps, make sure you do your research to ensure you are not contributing to the suffering of these magnificent animals. In general, the less hands-on a location is, the better. Watch out for places claiming they are ‘elephant sanctuaries’ as there is no legislation around the use of using the word sanctuary, and anyone can use it.

If you are looking for other ethical locations in the Chiang Mai Province, check out the Elephant Nature Park https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/enp/visit-volunteer.