As you know, our focus at PDXWildlife is the Giant Panda, but there are many treasured animals in Asia! Hailey and I have ventured to Thailand, where we got to experience a different flavor of conservation with the Asian Elephant in Chiang Mai.
Elephant Nature Park is unlike many elephant experiences, as its primary goal is conservation, rehabilitation and protection, not entertainment. ENP offers no rides or shows, but rather saves elephants when they are deemed useless by the entertainment or logging industry because they are injured. Much of our day at the park was spent walking through the expansive grounds, which are hidden in the lush mountains of northern Thailand. At each new location, we stopped to visit a “family.” These groups were not necessarily related, but a hodge-podge of elephants who managed to find a bond after introduction at the park. The elephant families were very patient with us while we took photos, though feeding them watermelon helped to warm them up to us! This type of hands-on experience is not usually allowed at the panda base, as they are predatory animals, but there were similarities between ENP and BiFengxia that pleased Hailey and I.
Elderly female elephant saved from logging after a broken ankle
At BiFengxia and Elephant Nature Park, there are no performances and the animals are never forced to act a certain way. The focus of each experience is observation and amicable, safe interactions. This is a central facet in all conservation efforts because it respects the natural behaviors of each species and acknowledges that they are still wild animals, even if they are dependent on human care. Also, there is emphasis on education for conservation. On our drive into ENP, our guide played a video stressing the cruel process of breaking an elephant for entertainment or logging. The video showed the complexity of elephant cognition and their family dynamics. The combination of understanding and interaction with the elephants is their key to conservation.
Through PDXWildlife, BiFengxia is making a similar effort, but with a focus on research to move the field forward. PDXWildlife research contributes to effective breeding strategies and general knowledge about the personalities of each panda. This is how we aim to not only improve conservation, but to see the giant panda thrive someday!
Thanks for reading- Nicole Murray
