On Monday we (four of us) arrived at the Elephant Conservation Centre in Sayaboury for our two day discovery. To get to the forest we had a small boat take us across and upon arrival we spotted a few elephants having their bath.
We were then brought to our bungalow for the night which was actually very nice and came with a hammock.
We all re-grouped and headed into the forest to the elephant nursery. After lunch on another boat (floating restaurant style) a mother and baby came walking down to the lake and it was the cutest thing EVER. The mahout put some bamboo out for them to eat and it was very sweet to watch.
The Elephant Conservation Centre is all about giving elephants the quality of life they are supposed to have (unlike in captivity)and to educate tourists. Visitors at ECC don’t ride, bathe, or feed these elephants. Only their mahouts can do that as they have fully gained the trust of the elephant.
After spending some time at the nursery we were showed the logging equipment and talked through elephant capabilities and capacities- they eat 10% of their body weight everyday and poo A LOT! We then went to the hospital where we received information on the anatomy of the elephants, common health concerns, and treatments used. The biologists were super knowledgeable and told us how target training the elephants helps them to look at what they need to when they have concerns.
Although ECC are strict on interaction with the elephants, a quick meet and greet is allowed under mahout supervision. I was very happy meeting Mae Khoun (top gal) and I think she liked my shirt.
Soon after it was time for another bath and our guide explained a bit more about their behaviors. Some are more dominant than others, some don’t like each other that much, one of the babies prefers his auntie rather than his mum, and one of the elephants is scared of another so can’t be around them without the presence of their mahout. This is more drama than an episode of Made in Chelsea.
As the elephants went back to the forest it started raining heavily, but after it cleared Beth and I went kayaking as the sun set. After dinner we chatted and played card games (this is what happens when have no WiFi) and headed to bed. Other than strange animal noises and lizards in the bathroom it was a pleasant night.
On our second day we returned to the bathing area with 5 of the elephants and did another meet and greet. We then hiked to the observation hut that overlooked the elephant socialization area. Most of these animals haven’t grown up with their families whilst they were in captivity so joining a new social group here is important. Something we found interesting is all 27 elephants had a name that sounded like variations on a theme of ‘Megan’, Mae Khean, Mae Khoun, Mae Kee etc.
After another hard climb and a spot of lunch it was time for us to leave ECC and head over to Vang Vieng…
