AMDI Story

Taaweechai Elephant Camp, Kanchanaburi, Thailand

RADHIYATUL AKMA BINTI MOHAMAD ZANI

Published : 13 December 2023

Mahouts sit atop elephants

Taaweechai Elephant Camp In Kanchanaburi, Thailand, November 15 2023 -

On the fourth day of our stay, we had the most exciting event when we came across a large herd of elephants at the Taaweechai Camp. Currently, the camp is occupied to 20 to 40 elephants. They have been thoroughly taught by professional mahouts to entertain and engage with visitors. The elephants do certain feats, such as darts and hula hooping. We were able to feed the elephants bananas. We also had the opportunity to have elephant massages. However, owing of their wild nature, the mahouts had taken several measures. We can only pet or stroke under the supervision and guidance of the mahout.

Photo By Radhiyatul Akma
Mahouts sit atop elephants

We also had the opportunity to meet Malik, an 11-month-old baby elephant. He is really amusing, affectionate, and friendly. We fed the banana to his mother. He secretly took and ate the banana. He should not eat the banana because it may create tummy upset. We discovered that the elephants had health checks every now and again, but not very frequently. We got to see how mahouts bathe elephants at the Kwai River. The elephants are having a great time bathing and have exceptional swimming abilities. During bath time, the elephants gleefully splash water on us. Before leaving the camp, we stopped at Adam's Coffee for some coffee made from elephant dung, which was rather tasty.

Photo By Radhiyatul Akma
Elephant bathing in the Kwai River

The massive, well-trained elephants had made an indelible impact on us. We were terrified of the elephants before we rode them. However, after a while, we can completely appreciate the elephant ride. This demonstrates that even wild and massive animals like elephants can be managed and trained to obey human commands after years of training, particularly if they begin training at a young age.