Situé à quelques kilomètres au nord de la ville, MandaLao Elephant Conservation est un sanctuaire pour des éléphants qui ont passé la majorité de leur vie à travailler pour l'exploitation forestière à travers le Laos. Soucieux du bien-être des pachydermes, l'endroit leur offre une vie digne et confortable en harmonie avec la nature. Une occasion vraiment intime de partager la vie des éléphants dans leur habitat naturel tout en leur assurant une vie agréable. Vous passerez du temps au plus proche des éléphants, en les accompagnant dans leur milieu naturel.
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We got to talk to an elephant trainer for a good while, learning about their current studies of elephant diet and their ambitious plans for releasing elephants back into a nearby preserve. Then we made nutrient rich treats for the elephants (banana, rice, salt, tamarind, and a probiotic).
You take a brief boat ride across the Nam Khan which is fun and provides nice views. Feeding the two elephants was good fun and they seemed to enjoy it as well (based on body language we learned at another sanctuary).
After eating, the elephants went down to the river to spray themselves with water and one even covered itself in fresh mud. You're not allowed to get close or "help" them bathe, which is a good thing. This was really fun to watch and they just let the elephants do their thang until they're ready to move on.
The last part involved walking through the jungle and following the elephants as they scavenged. They love fresh bamboo shoots in particular, and finding a good tree to rub up against. This part was cool because it felt the most free form. I also appreciate the shorter walk through the jungle versus the morning tour, because there are quite a few mosquitos and not much of a breeze in the trees! I can imagine getting bitten more on the longer morning hike that is twice as long.
Each elephant has a mahout, who stays close by but does not use a stick or even verbalize commands most of the time. The only time I heard them tut commands frequently was right before we parted ways with the elephants, to take a photo. I'm not sure what they were saying but it seemed like maybe a command to stay in place. The elephants still played with each other while we quickly did this.
I will definitely come back when I visit in the future.