Want to see a natural herd, walking, eating, scratching and bathing?
As a follow-up to Diane Cornelius’s letter yesterday (“The human race has lost sight of what is natural”) I want to once again note that the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai is one place where people can see elephants in a natural setting. No elephant tricks or riding.
When I went there years ago the place was mobbed with tourists. I think it’s insulting to foreigners for the barbaric tourist authority to think that tourists can only be happy when elephants are beaten and tortured so that they will perform unnatural acts.
I believe more people are like Diane Cornelius than like Robin Grant, who cares nothing about animals except in terms of how they can serve their human oppressors.
(From the Elephant Nature Park website: “We have been involved in dozens of rescues which have created our thriving elephant herd. The park provides a natural environment for elephants, dogs, cats, buffaloes and many other animals under our care.”)
Eric Bahrt
Chiang Mai
