This video was taken at the Hutsadin Elephant Foundation in Hua Hin (Thailand).
MORE ABOUT HUTSADIN ELEPHANT FOUNDATION
5 minutes from Hua Hin is the Hutsadin Elephant Foundation. Unlike the Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai, it falls under the radar; Hutsadin doesn’t get international funding, doesn’t receive endorsements from famous actors, and gets very little (if any) attention from bloggers. What it does do is care for old or abandoned elephants who have been abused or left for dead. It does this through the work of some very dedicated volunteers, private donations, as well as tours and shows aimed at visitors. The last part won’t appeal to the purists. But, as I say, not everyone has the luxury of being Elephant Nature Park and Hutsadin has the same noble intentions with much less resources. I’m writing this post in order to spread the word about Hutsadin. I will also reach out to some bigger bloggers in the hope that they do the same. We hope it will eventually result in greater funding and support for this foundation.
– The Foundation currently has 6 elephants including 1 baby (Song Kran above), 4 females varying in age between their mid 20’s and mid-50’s, and one male in his mid-60s.
– The foundation has to buy elephants from their owners. Song Kran for example cost them 1 million baht (about 30,000 USD). Even if elephants are injured or require medication that the owners can’t afford, they are assets and won’t be given to the foundation to care for. They have to be bought.
– Elephants live roughly the same number of years as adults and their age cycle is similar to that of humans (ie. a 6 year old is still regarded as a baby just as an 83 year old is considered elderly).
– Pregnancy lasts roughly 22 months (almost 2 years) in elephants. Female elephants will usually start reproducing at around 12-14 years of age and the interval between calves can be around 5 years.
– Male elephants leave their mother, and the herd, when they hit adolescence. They form ‘bachelor groups’ and, usually around the age of 30, will begin breeding with females and will temporarily rejoin herds when looking for a mate.
– Asian male elephants get into ‘musth’, a period when they are highly sexual and aggressive, starting at around 20 years of age. Musth can last 1-2 months (depending on the age of the elephant) and elephants in captivity must be chained to a tree for the safety of everyone around them. Musth usually fades in frequency and intensity when elephants hit their mid -50’s.
– Boon Mee is Hutsadin’s only male elephant and he was in musth during our visit. In his mid-60’s, he hadn’t been through musth for 5 years.
#elephants #Huahin #Thailand #travel
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Originally Posted by Johnson Reed
I'll probably post a few things in here from my collection when I have some time tonight. Also, I am counting Madagascar as Southeast Asia since I only care about the Malayo-Polynesian population native to it hehe.
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