Miss you..

My favourite picture this trip =)

In Anticipation of Rain

It started drizzling so he sat under the truck haha weaksauce

Deceiving Photo

haha it looks like he has side bangs but it’s a flap from the underside of the hat.

Chet

I found a picture of Chet on facebook. He’s one of the Volunteer Coordinators that I mentioned earlier. This was taken at the Suring Project, but this is exactly how he dresses at the park too! He likes to be just in his boxers =) and I’m pretty sure his favourite colour is green.

One night, he came into my room with a flashlight and woke me up. I was SO scared haha but it was my fault. I left the door open because I had a new dog sleep in my room and I wasn’t sure what kind of habits he had yet (when he needs to leave).

Mouth to Mouth Corn Feeding

Before

During

Yummy Treat

tamarind and salt.

Unusual Shots

Companions for the Day

Apparently, Tin Tin and Kham Pan never hang out, but they kept each other company ALL day on my last day with her. Tin Tin followed her and stood watch so diligently, I was surprised that it’s the first time that it happened (according to Pon). Maybe they’re secret night time hang out buddies, or it’s the start of something new. We’ll see the next time I come back!

River Side Snacking

On my last day, I helped out with chores a bit and then I spent the rest of the morning with her. I sometimes see her leave the shelter in the morning and she may wait by the observation deck as early as 10:30 for morning feed time but I don’t know where she goes in between then.

It was fun to follow her around. The view was really great because we stayed by the river the whole time. Since it was morning, there was lots of shade around. I didn’t use sunscreen at all this trip (I know! so stupid of me =/), so it was a good idea I stayed in the shade.

There is no vegetation on the main side of the river, just a rocky beach. She crossed the river and snacked on the grass on the other bank. We followed her down the river to keep an eye on her, but I stayed on the main side.

Pon had to cross the river when Kham Pan began to inch her way up the hill to trespass for some better greens.

There was some trumpeting and trunk slapping when he gave her commands, but she was good and turned back before he reached her. She got mad and went back down the river in a pace we wouldn’t be able to keep up with in the river. haha storming off.

Somebody’s Hungry

She’s waiting for Pon to bring her basket of food but he’s just sitting in the shade because it’s not time yet. He keeps telling her to back away but she likes to lean on the fence and smell around with her trunk. Maybe she hopes he has an extra banana in his pocket.

Kham Pan always seems to be hungry but it becomes more apparent right before feeding time. She will sway back and forth and lean her weight against a fence or the bench. Her trunk will wave all over the air, trying to catch any smell of fruits and vegetables coming her way.

Pon has to tell her to step back or else she’ll snap the wood. Then, she gets impatient and mad at him. One time, she even slapped the ground and trumpeted like a child throwing a tantrum! I was so surprised. I never heard her make any sound like that before. I was so happy that I caught it on video (below).

It’s a staring contest. Sometimes, she stands like a dejected puppy. She slumps over and drags her trunk like she’s starving and has no energy. Pon just looks at her, but he doesn’t make a move to get the basket.

Deep Temples

Nobody knows Kham Pan’s real age. Many elephants have altered birth certificates and documents to make them seem younger when they are sold. However, you can estimate how old an elephant is by the dips in their temples. A baby elephant will have a round head but an old one will have large indents on both sides of their head.

Kham Pan is estimated to be around 65 to 75 years old. Not only do the indents tell an elephants age, but they also seem to act as pockets on their heads. Kham Pan always comes back with leaves and pebbles on the ridge. One day during morning feeding time, Pon put some corn on the top of her head and the ridge of her temples. I expected her to reach up and grab the food with her trunk, but she was smarter than that. She shook them off her head and grabbed all of them off the floor in one scoop.

We tried again and again, but she never used her trunk to retrieve the food. I was disappointed by that, but delighted by how her intelligence surprised me. 

Dom

Mae Tee and Mae Kham Geaw were confined to the medical centre when I was there so I didn’t get to see them very often. They had infections in their foot and Lek didn’t want it to become worse in the river water.

I recognize Dom, Kham Geaw’s mahout, by the big hat he wears! haha In the winter time, I can spot him by the black Canada vest he wears.

Mae Tee’s old mahout, Pon See, didn’t work at the park anymore. However, he still lived in the same area so I saw him one time at the store close to the park.

Fertilizing With Elephant Poo

 

A mixture of manure, straw and mud is dried in the field under the hot sun. Volunteers shovel it into baskets and then transport it to garden areas to fertilize the soil there. Since the sun dried the mixture so quickly, sometimes it seemed like there were more rocks and straw than manure.

I felt like this was one of the harder jobs because it happens in the afternoon and there is no shade. We took a lot of breaks and didn’t work as long as other afternoon chores. There was always the dip in the river to look forwards to after.

Elephants sometimes walked past so we had to keep an eye out for mischievous ones. They liked to see what we’re doing. Probably wondered why we were so dirty and smelled bad. haha

Photographs taken by: Stefanie Sattler

Scratching Poles

The pillars underneath the observation deck seem to be the official scratching poles. It’s one of Kham Pan’s favourite place to scratch herself. She always goes there after a bath.

When an elephant leans on one of the pillars and rubs their body against it, the whole deck will shake like there’s an earthquake. Fortunately, the observation deck was built with elephants in mind and can withstand the strength of the elephants. She reminds me of a big cat when she uses the big poles to scratch her body. I can always tell if she’s been at it because the cement ridge leaves scratch marks on her skin. Not to worry though, elephant skin is an inch thick so cement is just the right texture to scratch those itchy spots.

Sometimes, Kham Pan will over itch a bug bite and break her skin. Then I worry that she will get an infection or bug may lay eggs in her wound. Pon tells the vets and they usually come by to clean the spot and put medicine on it.

During the first week, she had a ripped toe nail. The vet decided not to cut it and it tore off naturally one day without ripping into the flesh. That was a relief. I’ve seen foot infections get really bad in some elephants. The infection can spread throughout the whole body.

Dragonfly

Baths in the River

Photograph taken by: Crossroads

The elephants take two baths a day. Once after we have lunch and once after their afternoon feeding time. In the winter time, some of the older elephants just dip one foot in and then turn tail because the water is so cold. In the summer time, the water is so refreshing, the elephants will take multiple baths to cool down.

Last time I came, Kham Pan kept her baths short. Pon had to lure her back in with bread so we could finish washing her. This time, I had the pleasure of watching her spray herself with water during every bath.

Photograph taken by: Crossroads

I enjoy washing her and making sure to clean the area around her eye where her tears fall. She will close her eyes and turn her head towards me in anticipation of a bucket of water.

I used to go into the river and splash her with water. Sometimes, Pon gave me bread to keep her in the water. This time, I often just sat on the beach and let the visitors wash her. I was happy just watching her spray herself with water. Up, left and right. I usually sat close enough to get wet too and that was a fun treat. It’s like rain from a big brown cloud.

Photograph taken by: Crossroads

Sometimes when Kham Pan was waiting for her basket of food next to the observation deck, she would head down for a brief splash to cool down. However, this didn’t happen very often. Once she made her way to the deck, she usually stays there just in case Pon went to get her basket.

If he knows that she’s really hot, he’ll order her down to the river to cool down even if she’s waiting for food. Sometimes, she’ll walk down halfway to the beach, and then change her mind before she gets to the river. It’s silly, because she is fast enough to go down to the river and back before Pon could grab her basket from the kitchen.

Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill

Even though I spend so much time with Kham Pan, I still have trouble recognizing her sometimes. Especially right after a bath. She changes to different shades of grey and brown depending on how dry her skin is and how much she’s sprayed on. If I can’t identify her right away, I will use other hints like if Pon is around, how deep her temples are, the condition of the ears, the length of the tail hair and the pigmentation on her skin.

Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill

A lot of the mahouts will take off their pants and save them from being soaked in the river. Sometimes, they’re wearing bright coloured briefs. It doesn’t bother them when it’s just them and their elephant in the water (even though people can see them from the observation deck). However, when they see visitors coming, they hurry to put on their pants. haha

Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill

My two favourites at the park! Duke and Kham Pan. It was a funny surprise when we looked through the pictures and found Duke in the picture with us.

All the pails are for visitors to help splash the elephants with water. They also use brushes to scrub their thick skin. The elephants are supposed to enjoy it a lot.

Sometimes, Pon puts fish food pellets in the pail and I get to feed the fish in the river. I don’t even remember seeing fish before, but Lek has been feeding them and now there are so many. They are also pretty big. People will trespass into the area and fish at night time. It gets the dogs are crazy (as if they don’t fight enough at night!)

Run Away Elephants

We sometimes see mahouts running after their mischievous elephants. The elephants don’t want to run away, they just want to test the mahouts and see how much they can get away with.

It’s amazing to see an elephant run. They’re so big that they look like they’re barely moving. Then you see a human chasing him and even at their breakneck speed, they are no where near as fast as the elephant.

Mahouts of elephants that are more active get paid a little bit more. Here’s a good weight loss program that pays you!

Mahout Bags

Most of the mahouts are from Burma. They wear traditional bags with Burmese designs on them. The gift store has been selling mahout bags and they’re a hit. They’re very comfortable and convenient to use.

Moonlit Fire

I was out taking pictures of the moon one night when I realized there was a huge fire across the river. It was very big and bright for a long time.

The beginning of May is the end of the dry season in Chiang Mai. There were many fires throughout the day and night around the park. I was told that they were probably controlled fires, lit for different reasons. The smoke from all the fires made the air quality very bad. Fortunately, it soon started raining after I arrived. The air cleared up (but it got SO humid).

Repairing Shelter Roofs

Photograph taken by: Maxine Rawson-Rodriguez

Many of the shelter roofs were being replaced when I was there. It was really interested to see how they brought up the straw and thatched them together. It seemed like really hot work without any protection from the sun. They worked early in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat.

Duke

Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill

This is Duke. He plays soccer (read as: he wears soccer socks). One of the overnight guides told me that and I believed him. What he CAN do is catch bread in the air if you rip off a small piece and scrunch it up. He gets practice doing that everyday with the mahouts after afternoon bath time. Not all the dogs have mastered it yet. It’s pretty impressive.

I’ve never had a dog before but meeting Duke has given me a chance to know how it feels to have one. I think I miss him as much as I miss Mae Kham Pan.

Photograph taken by: Blair Dack

I met Duke in December last year. He came into our room and slept on Melita’s (my roommate) bed the night I went to Elephant Haven. I was so excited to hear the news. Maybe he would come again and sleep on mine. Melita is a huge dog lover and I think she found my excitement amusing.

So the next night, Duke was waiting at the door when we got home. He slipped in quietly right when I opened the door, as if afraid we’d shut the door on him if he didn’t act right away. That made me laugh. I patted the end of my bed and he jumped up. That was the first night I slept with a dog on my bed.

Melita slept with Baumi. He was still a puppy then. In the middle of the night, I woke up to see her curled up in the top corner of her bed because Baumi was sprawled on the bottom half. He even slept like a puppy too. No bed manners at all.

The next day, I saw Duke on the platform and I called his name. He totally ignored me like I was some random visitor that he’s never seen before. He was so cold! I couldn’t believe it. I felt a little used.

The volunteers usually hung out in the dining area on top of the kitchen after dinner and talk until everyone was ready to go to bed (Note: This area has now been demolished. A new kitchen has been built and the volunteers eat in the main seating area). Duke liked to sleep on the pillows downstairs until all the volunteers said their good nights. Then, he would follow us back to our room (or around the tree hut because Melita liked to lure Number One’s pack to sleep in our room).

So that became our habit, with the two dogs (and sometimes their friends too) sleeping in our room. Sometimes Baumi slept on the floor, sometimes another dog would sleep in Melita’s bed, but Duke always slept on mine (even though he was so cold to me during the day!).One night, I wanted to see if Duke would jump onto my bed if I didn’t ask him to. I could see him waiting by the side of my bed.. watching me put my toiletries away, change into my pjs and set the alarm.. I didn’t look at him and continued to get ready for bed.

When I finally looked back at him, I was surprised to see that he was already curled up into a ball by the side of my bed. I shook him awake and patted my bed. I climbed into bed, but he didn’t jump up. I called to him from my bed. He looked up. I patted my bed. Then, he put his head back on his paws and closed his eyes. He couldn’t be bothered to move.

The dogs just want to sleep in someone’s room. In the winter time, it gets pretty cold at night. I woke up a few times wishing I had brought more clothes with me. Sleeping in an enclosed room makes a big difference, especially for a short haired dog like Duke.

Duke was fine sleeping on the floor. But I wasn’t fine with it! I really liked it when he slept on my bed. After the first night, I moved him up so he was sleeping right next to me and I could curl my body around his.

I got out of bed and picked him up off the floor. He was SO heavy. I couldn’t believe it. He’s small, but so compact. I managed to bring him up high enough to put him on my bed.

The whole amused Melita so much. She laughed really hard. In the beginning, it seemed like I was playing hard to get. I was ignoring Duke. In the end, when he clearly showed that he didn’t need me, I showed that I was actually desperate and literally took him to bed with me.

 

Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill

Duke was always very friendly to the visitors and volunteers. But he didn’t act like anyone’s dog. He didn’t really just follow one person. He didn’t come when you called. Even though he waited for me every night, walked home with me and slept with me.. he didn’t seem very attached to me.

I think the dogs at the park see many people every day. Some stay for a week, some may even stay a bit more, but most never come back after that short period of time. While many visitors and volunteers feel that they have a bond with the dogs at the park (from spending so much time with them). I’m sure the dogs just see the volunteers as people who slip them food under the table and scratch their heads.

Dogs love humans. I think they’re really happy to just be with us, to follow us around, to have the security of a human owner, but the park isn’t a regular home. People come and go at a high rate. A lot of the dogs have also come from bad pasts and there has been psychological damage.

I felt that Duke couldn’t be bothered to extend so much energy and friendship to someone that will inevitably leave soon enough. If that was the case, then I completely understood. Still, I was a little bothered because HE was special to ME and I wanted him to act that way too.

Four months later, I’m back at the park and I wonder if Duke will remember me. Melita told me the dogs wanted to sleep in our rooms last year because it was so cold outside. I was disappointed that Duke probably won’t want to sleep on my bed this time, but I was still excited to see him.

This time, I was placed in a single room in the Jungle Hut area beside the conference room. It was on the other side of where I was staying last time. Last time, I had a hunch that Duke had been sleeping in our room with a previous volunteer, that’s why he so readily walked in and slept on Melita’s bed. I thought that he always slept in that complex of huts SO I was so surprised when I found him sleeping on a straw chair outside my hut the next morning.

The second night, he was sleeping in the same chair when I came home. He stood up and followed me to my doorway. I opened it wide. He took it as an invitation and walked right in. I was so happy. I guess he did remember me!

Last time, twisted the mosquito netting and tied it up so the dogs could sleep on our beds. I wanted Duke to continue sleeping on mine but I couldn’t do without the net this time of year. I let him on my bed, and then draped the netting around us. I didn’t have to worry, he was well behaved inside the net. Sometimes, he woke up to walk in a circle, but he never disturbed the netting.

So that’s how it panned out for the rest of my time at the park. I wouldn’t see Duke very much during the day, but he would also be close by once dinner was over. If he went off to bark at a trespasser, fight with some dogs or fell asleep while I changed locations, then I would find him waiting for me in the passageway to my room.

Once in my room, he would wait for me to pull the mosquito netting away (some dogs just jump on and sleep on the netting so it’s impossible for me to get in) and then jump up. I slept with my arm around him and sometimes when it was too hot, I would just hold his paw. And he would let me. He’s the first dog I’ve ever gotten to sleep with and I’m spoiled! haha

 

Duke wasn’t cold to me during the day anymore. He slept in my bed every night but he still didn’t act like my dog. That was okay though. I wasn’t bothered when I saw other people petting him and claiming that Duke liked them best. I had a confident secret. haha =) I was fully secure in the fact that he would come find me every night and that was the only thing I cared about.