Lek

Yesterday evening we had a talk from the founder of the Elephant Nature Park, Lek Chailert. She is truly inspirational and has the rare human combination of tenacity, passion and unwavering belief in her cause. She was brought up in a remote hill tribe in northern Thailand and learnt about the elephants from her grandfather, a mahout. When she was 16 she witnessed a mahout mistreating an elephant so badly she could read from its eyes the desire to be liberated via death. This image still haunts her; it was then she made the decision to devote her life to helping the elephants.

I have found a YouTube link to an interview with Lek. It is only 5 minutes and should be worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zASFwh_z7uY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Traditions of the mahout in SE Asia are all about breaking and mastering the elephant. The babies have to go through a horrendous initiation to destroy their fight and spirit. Once 'trained' they are often controlled through beatings, gougings and fear. Some are fed amphetamines so they can work longer hours. Lek has rescued many elephants whose physical abuse is apparent to see but for some the damage is mental. Mothers kill their babies and elephants self harm because their minds have been lost.

I have found a link to the Thai tradition of breaking the baby elephant. You may find it difficult to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVckvi_gWVo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Lek's dream is to rescue elephants from their lives of slavery in logging but also tourism. She wants to promote eco tourism where volunteers can help (like I am doing), and raise awareness regarding harmful tourism such as elephant shows and riding.  She is also trying to re-educate the mahout in more humane methods but is experiencing resistance and opposition. Ultimately she wants all healthy elephants to be taken back to the wild, so they can learn to be free spirited, independent elephants again. An American millionaire has just donated 35 thousand acres of land to allow her to do this. Eventually the park here will be for disabled elephants who can't survive without human support.

If you would like to find out more Lek's web address is below.

www.saveelephant.org