Elephants on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was quite different this year.  Instead of being in Boston dreaming of sugar plums and reindeer, I was in Thailand, eating sugar cane and playing with elephants.  I definitely miss family, but this was as sweet as Mom's homemade butterhorns!

Yesterday, I spent my day at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.  It's a rehab center for mistreated elephants.  In case you didn't know, the elephant tourism industry is quite controversial.   You can watch this video about the dark side of riding elephants.  

This sanctuary buys elephants from tour companies and gives them a better life!  And they bring in tourists to play with them, feed them and bathe them.  These gentle giants are really really kind, and they too, love Christmas.

We rode in the back of a truck which is a typical taxi here in Thailand.  (Not to be confused with Tuk-Tuks, which are smaller, open-air rickshaw type taxis.)

It was 1.5 hours each way, but they gave us free water! 

The group consisted of: Abby (Vermont)

Abe (Pittsburgh, but originally from India)

Derrick (Los Angeles)

Derryl (Los Angeles)

And, Natalie (Luxembourg)

Once we got to the sanctuary, we had to put on these snazzy shirts.  They need you to wear similar clothing as the caretakers so the elephants know you're friendly.  

I was pretty pleased with the color scheme of my shirt, since it matched my red tee n sneaks.  

Then, we got schooled on how to approach the elephants.  Do's n don'ts.  Here is Abby and I not listening to the instructions.

Naw, I'm kidding, we were dialed in.  I am not one of those people that takes wild animals lightly.  Don't wanna get stomped or smushed.  

AND, more importantly, you need to know eleph-elfie etiquette.  Here is my eleph-elfie.   

Just in case you wanted to see my eleph-elfie from a different angle, Abe got you covered:

And, maybe you want more eleph-elfies?  Better quality wide angle eleph-elfies?  I got you. 

Here are a bunch of snaps of my friends feeding and chillin' w the ellies:

CRUNCH!!!  These ellies eat bananas and sugar cane stalks.  It's wild to hear them CRUNCH on the sugar cane, crushing it like it wasn't even a thang.

This is me, cautiously feeding, and petting the gentle, GINORMOUS animals.

Petting the elephants was throwin' me super weird!  It feels like you're rubbing a spongy piece of staircase anti-slip grip tape, with wire bristles coming out of it.  I definitely wouldn't want to snuggle or spoon with an ellie.  

After the feeding, we went down to the mud pit, where everyone was encouraged to jump in n get dirty with the ellies.  I opted to take photos.  Not because I'm afraid to get dirty, I just wanted to take pics.

And then I saw this and think I made the right choice:

After ~7 mins, they led the ellies down to the river, and this time I got in and splish-splashed with em!  (You have to watch the video to see me)

After a good swim, what do they want to do?  Get dirty again.  

But, they're not just showering themselves with dirt because they want to get dirty.  It's a defensive move.  Filling their pores with dirt helps them avoid tick bites when they sleep at night.  Smart thinkin' fellas!  

Here's one of the staff clownin' w the ellie---he held the trunk up to his ear like he was answering a phone call!  LOL

Just a snap of one of 'em roamin' off in the distance.

I gotta say it was a good day.  The views were gorgeous.

And, the experience was unforgettable.

It was pretty hot out there, and on the way back, we were zonked.  Snoozin' in the ole truck.

Without further adieu, here is the video I made for you!  It is ~6:40.  Hope you enjoy!  Merry Christmas!

This video is about ElephanElephant2

Borneo's Wicked Wildlife - Pt 2

No trip to Borneo is complete without seeing wild orangutans.  Seeing animals in a zoo is depressing.  Seeing them in the semi-wild is wicked sweet!!  

If you visit Kuching, you gotta go to Semenggoh Nature Reserve.  It's less than an hour from the city.  For a little context, Kuching is the capital city of the state of Sarawak, which is on the island of Borneo, which is part of Malaysia.  Here is the map in case you missed the last post:

Here are a few snaps of Kuching to give you an idea of what this charmingly cute and colorful little island city is like.  (THANK YOU to Fritztastic and Celeste for recommending it!)

Ok, back to the wildlife.  You probably are wondering why I said "semi-wild"?  The Semenggoh Wildlife Center was set up in the 1970's as a rehab center for injured animals.  They help sick animals and then release them into the jungle.    

Semenggoh basically acts as a feeding center for the endangered Bornean Orangutans.  Twice a day they call out for them and if they come, they get to eat fruit.  During the fruitful seasons in the jungle, the orangutans don't even show up, cuz they're full.  This makes the staff happy, but the visitors sad.

Semenggoh is actually a little controversial, because some think we are intruding on their space too much.  See the article here.  I didn't see any problem with it.  They're endangered and making sure they are fed seems like a good thing long term.

There are a bunch of other areas on Borneo where you can see orangutans truly living in the wild.  I've already got a spot I want to come back to:  Danum Valley in Sabah (just up the coast on Borneo) came recommended by a guy who guides up there, and it is home to Proboscis Monkeys, Orangutans AND Pygmy Elephants. YUP, I'll be back.

Feeding time is 9 - 10am, and then the afternoon.  I went at 9am based on the recommendation of a fellow traveler --- thanks Yogginy!  Higher likelihood of seein' 'em early.

The workers led us on a short hike to get to the feeding area.  And then, they call out to them, yawping wildly into the jungle every minute or two.  

We waited.  And waited.  

9:15.  No orangutans.

9:30.  No orangutans.  

At this point, the crowd seemed defeated.  The adrenaline had faded.  I started taking pics of cool jungle flora.  

Then, all of a sudden...we see large treetops swaying irregularly way off in the distance.

The excitement was palpable!  

And then, the tree next to it started swaying...they're getting closer!  

The first sight of one off in the distance, was unreal.  I've seen orangutans in zoos before, but this was like Jurassic Park type stuff.  Thrilling!

These guys are so acrobatic and flexible.  

They seem like they are having a blast as they are climbing trees, swinging and swaying.  

It's just their way of moving around, but arboreal locomotion just looks so fun!   Who wouldn't want to be Tarzan, swinging from vines?  Maybe I should get into trapeze...

2 came out to get their fruit on and we watched them for about 20 minutes.  

They did not come close to the crowds like when Yoginny was there.  But, I didn't mind.  Call me crazy, but I tend to appreciate a bit of distance with wild animals.  

For the most part, they had their backs to the crowd.  

But, every once in a while, they would check us out.  

I love how they hold the fruit with their feet, and use their hands to eat---all while holding on to the ropes. Amazing animals.  

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2016-11-29.

After about 15 minutes, one of the feeders announced that there were two or three baby orangutans approaching the front area if we wanted to see them.  

When he said babies, I had this vision of orangutans in diapers, sucking on passies.  But, naw, these babies look pretty grown to me.  

Look how flexible this one is.  Doing a split, holding his weight with his toes, while scarfin' some fruit.

10am, feeding time was over!  But, I'm thoroughly happy with my visit to Semenggoh.  Thought I was gonna get skunked.  Instead I got orangutan-ed.  

Next up...the grand finale!  Borneo's Wicked Wildlife Part 3.  

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