Malaysia Part 2: Elephants

Part of our jungle tour included a visit to Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Center.  So as we headed back from the jungle of Taman Negara to the city of Kuala Lumpur we stopped at this elephant sanctuary.  The Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks rescues Asian elephants and brings them to a new home where they get pampered daily.

At our arrival we were able to buy sugar cane and bananas to feed to elephants that were in pens.  Some bore marks of hunters and traps, others had their homes destroyed due to cultivation and development, and others were abandoned orphans for one reason or another.  One actually had lost her tail and had scarring all across her backside from a tiger attack when she was a baby.  Despite their past hardships these elephants were the happiest creatures with all the attention, trunk petting, and loads of food being handed to them.

The big ones.

The little ones.

This actually happened.

Two baby elephants vying for my attention (or really my sugar cane).

Next there was a show where four of the adults elephants were paraded in with their handlers and the crowd was told their stories.  The announcer told more about the center and the elephants living there, as well as other elephants who have been relocated to the jungle.  Afterwards we were able to feed the elephants papaya.  Then we followed the procession down to the river where the elephants splashed along in the water and took baths.

Staring down my papaya.

Bath time!

After the adult elephants were done with their baths, a baby elephant was brought into the river.  If you were willing to pay a little extra then you could go into the river with the elephant and help give her a bath.  We were obviously not going to miss out on this opportunity!  Unfortunately I do not remember our elephant's name because I was too giddy excited about hanging out with an elephant to remember her complicated Malaysian name.

We were told to reach down into the water and grab some of the muddy sand, which we then rubbed onto her as a nice little exfoliating scrub.  Then we had to clean her off, so we splashed water over her and the guides splashed water all over us.  Luckily they had a woman who worked there who stood out of the splash zone and took pictures for us.

The group with a small elephant.

My contacts were a little fuzzy after this.

Can you tell I had a good time?

Stray thoughts:

• While it is extremely sad that these elephants have lost their homes, it is wonderful to know that there are people looking out for them and actively working towards awareness of elephant conservation.
• Trunks are crazy weird and also really strong.  The little guys didn't have the best control of them still and so they were a little wild with them, which was super adorable and also a little scary.
• Just FYI, I bought a pair of sweet elephant patterned pants and a little wooden figurine from a market to commemorate my elephant experience.

Matching elephant pants.

• The last part of my Malaysian adventures will be about the end of our trip at Penang Island.