World Elephant Day 2021 - Focusing on the individual
Today is World Elephant Day and as most of you have been following me and my work for nearly two decades now, You will know that here at BLES, we respect, protect and provide, for not just the elephants in our direct care, but throughout Thailand and the rest of the world.
However, today, I want to dedicate this blog entry, to one special elephant individual. He is a young, strong, stubborn, beautiful, bull, who’s life has been full of ups and downs, twists and turns - sadly, this is not an uncommon story for bulls kept in captivity.
This bull, is one that my team and I, know very well. He lived with us here at BLES, for ten years - His name, is, Mee Chok.
In 2019, there was a tragic turn of events here at BLES. Our Co Founder, father of my five children and a truly respected and gifted mahout, Anon Phimmuean, was discovered dead, close to where Mee Chok had spent the night.
You can read my only statement about what happened here - https://wordpress.com/post/blesele.wordpress.com/1997
Anon, had been Mee Chok’s main carer since his rescue from a tourism camp, when he was less than two years old. Mee Chok came to us as an angry and aggressive, little boy. It was obvious, to all of us, that he suffered from PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
In the early days, Mee Chok was surrounded by our older elephants, who became his family. Pang Tong, our fierce matriarch, Somai, our gentle granddad bull, Tong Jai, our impressive tusker - these elephants were the ones who played pivotal roles in providing Mee Chok with comfort, education and discipline. Tong Jai in particular, was a great teacher to Mee Chok and would spa with our ever growing bull, putting him back in his place, whenever he became too boisterous and difficult to control.
As the years went by, Mee Chok grew in physical size, as well as in confidence. His mentors, one by one, passed away, leaving Mee Chok, with all his strength, energy and deep rooted trauma, alone.
As much as we tried, Mee Chok became increasingly harder to manage. He would run around and terrorise our other elephants, who were mostly old and fragile females, some of them with debilitating injuries, making it impossible for them to stand their ground with Mee Chok and putting them in serious danger.
At BLES, Mee Chok was unmatched. Our females and remaining bulls, Mr Moo, Nwon and Sompord, were intimidated by Mee Chok’s constant attacks and this, paired with his PTSD, was creating an unbalanced and extremely unsafe environment.
Following Anon’s untimely death, it proved impossible to find a mahout to take on Mee Chok. I tried for six months, desperately reaching out and determined to do right by him. It has been an intense two years, but, I now believe, I did do right by Mee Chok and here’s why:
I know a lot of people are not going to like what I am about to say. So, before you start judging, throwing out hate speech and uneducated comments - I ask you, to read this with an open mind and trust that I always want the best for every individual and that I strive to constantly tell the truth.
It is very easy to be mislead by irresponsible social media posts, often financed by the tourism industry, insinuating that elephants are playful, crave human interactions, enjoy cuddles and pose no kind of threat to us, when we sometimes unknowingly, but always, selfishly, encroach on the elephants and their personal space.
Elephants, in particular, young bulls, are incredibly dangerous animals. They do not belong in captivity and speaking from my own personal experience, I now believe, it is not safe to manage them in a sanctuary type of environment, such as BLES.
Like several other species, such as horses or dogs for example, who are also managed by humans, there has to be an element of control. Why? For safety.
I made the very tough decision to relocate Mee Chok to The Thai Elephant Conservation Centre - TECC. I was harassed and severely criticised for this move, by people who sadly, believed the propaganda that wants every tourist around the world to believe that elephants are harmless. It is so easy for people to pass judgment, when they do not know the facts and have no actual experience with captive elephant management.
For the record, I hold no hate for these people who viscously attacked my family, during what was the most painful time. I surround those people with compassion and the hope that they will one day, see the light and follow a more truthful and peaceful path.
Despite regularly visiting Mee Chok at TECC, I couldn’t bring myself to post any updates, because I admit, I was struggling to hold it together. The relentless and unfiltered bulling my children and I were being exposed to, as well as grieving our huge loss, was taking its toll on me. I just needed to put my family first and protect myself - something, that I have never done in the past.
It may have taken me a while, but I am back.
I am so excited to share with you that Mee Chok, is thriving at TECC. He is part of a brand new initiative there - a tusker herd!! A group of bulls, all tuskers, all different ages and sizes, that are walked out in to the forest, every single day. These nineteen bulls are allowed to socialise, graze and behave like elephants. They are not involved in any tourism program and never will be. There are no tourists anywhere near these bulls! Sounds too good to be true right? Well, let me explain how it works.
The bulls, for their safety and for the safety of every mahout, are secured by one long length of chain. I know that none of us want to read/hear/see this. We have been led to believe that seeing an elephant with a chain around its ankle, means it is being abused. Well, I am telling you, that that simply is not the case.
For example, if these bulls were not secured in any way, if they were allowed to be, ‘Free’, they would not have the opportunity to interact with each other. They would not get enough exercise, they would not get access to a natural diet. They would probably attack, run riot and possibly even kill or be killed.
Trust me, I know how ironic it sounds, but in the case of these tuskers, having a long chain, that is secured to a tree, deep in the forest, is actually benefiting them.
I was recently involved in filming a documentary series, based at TECC and was able to spend a lot of time with Mee Chok. I mostly watched him, with his herd and was delighted to see that Mee Chok, has become a leader and enjoys sparring with the older bulls, who are not afraid to challenge him.
Mee Chok has responded positively to this style of management. He is noticeably calmer and no longer displays aggressive behaviour towards humans.
I have said it over and over again: Elephants are individuals and their management should be respectful of this. There is no blue print, no manual, no black and white approach to this highly complex and controversial situation. Caring for bulls in captivity is a dangerous job. Particularly, if the bulls, or any elephant for that matter, are exposed to inappropriate management.
I want to express my genuine gratitude to all the staff at TECC. I hate to think, what would have become, if TECC didn’t exist or worse, had refused to take Mee Chok on.
On this World Elephant Day, my heartfelt thanks goes out to every single one of you, who has stuck with me throughout the years. These past few years in particular, have been more than challenging and extremely overwhelming at times. At the end of the day, I am just one person, doing my best, telling the truth and trying to make a positive impact on the world around me. I have no agenda, no ego and no interest in bashing or bitching about other facilities. Hate, just creates more hate. Nothing positive or productive can ever be achieved by spreading negativity. I want the best for everyone and I believe we all want a healthy and safe world for the elephants. Our world is changing and we have to come together, put our judgements to one side and start supporting new approaches and initiatives, even if it feels personally conflicting.
On that note, I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the content of this blog via e mail. I can be contacted at katherine@blesele.org
Trunks up and trumpet loud - we send you so much love,
Katherine and the elephants xx
PS - Mee Chok is secured in these photos.