Self Assessment 2018:

Self-Assessment- Thailand 2018

            Last year I had the opportunity to do a first Magellan project to Australia and New Zealand. After this experience, I knew I had to complete another trip, but I never would have thought I would have the chance to travel to Thailand. I had previous background knowledge on the effects of animal tourism in Asia and specifically, the mistreatment of elephants. The background knowledge I had is nothing compared to the details I learned and witnesses firsthand. When speaking about the decline of the Asian elephant population, the majority of people will immediately think of the ivory trade or poaching. Many do not however even know the effects of riding an elephant.  

            For an animal as massive of an elephant to become submissive to a human, they must go through an abuse process known as “the phajaan.” This word means the crush. This is when they crush the elephant’s spirit until they eventually only listen to the one specific person known as the “mahout.” The phajaan usually involves starving, beating, and keeping the elephant in a small cage or hole in the ground until the point of death. The elephant is then kept as a prisoner it’s whole life to work for the mahout as either a riding elephant or an elephant used to breed with other males. Even after this process the elephants undergo mistreatment. Many stay in the same small space their whole lives, chained down, with little food and water.

            The people who ride these elephants though, do not usually know this. In Thailand and other Asian countries, the main threat to elephants is not the ivory industry, but instead the tourists who ride these elephants. The Wildlife Friends Foundation is where I volunteered for two weeks during my Magellan. Although the foundation is trying their best to save these elephants, the only way to fully stop this industry is to stop supporting it. Even if someone believes their $5 elephant ride is not detrimental, it is. By raising awareness to stop riding elephants, eventually the industry will have no money to keep it going.

            Although I have traveled alone before, this trip still frightened me as I was entering a completely new country. Most residents did not speak English and I had to communicate through short phrases and mostly hand gestures. I did learn a couple basic words and tried my best to speak Thai. Navigating myself around the first city I landed in, Bangkok, was not as difficult as I was anticipating. I learned how to call over a cab and how to order their version of Uber, “Grab”.  There were also moments I had to put my trust into the locals and have them direct me to my next location. Another issue I faced was the incredible heat and humidity. My hostel did not have air conditioning which made it extremely hard to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time. I eventually adapted to it and found ways to deal it.  Overall what seemed like big obstacles at the time, helped me grow as a person and learn how to communicate better.

            Bangkok is the capitol of Thailand and reminded me of New York City and Sydney. The streets were busy with Thai residents and tourists like myself. Here I met a couple Thai girls who informed me more of the elephant riding industry and concluded that they did not know the harm of it, as they all have ridden an elephant before. They explained how huge the industry was and how it attracted countless tourists every year.

            After Bangkok, I went to Tha Mai Ruak, the location of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. Here is where I spent the bulk of my trip caring for everything from primates to elephants. This experience was extremely rewarding, even the moments I had to dispose of elephant feces or scrub dirt out of a black bear’s pool. The first week I spent my time working at the animal rescue center. Every day I woke up at 6 am and started my day by preparing food for the animals I was assigned to for the day. This could be primates, bears, turtles, birds, and other smaller animals. Here I learned how much work it is to keep an animal sanctuary running, every single volunteer has a lot of responsibilities and the animals need constant care.

            The next week I volunteered at the elephant sanctuary, caring for multiple elephants a day. Again I woke up early and prepared food for each one. It was amazing to see the amount of trust each elephant put into us. Again, this was a lot of work, but extremely rewarding.  Each elephant has such a different personality I was able to connect with during my time here.

            It is essential to save this keystone species for their ecosystems. As more awareness for different animals and the environment in general increase, it is important for people to understand their role in researching different animal tourism sites before participating.

            After two weeks here, I traveled to Phuket. Phuket is known for its beautiful beaches and nearby islands. Here I met up with W&J student, Marissa Weis, and we had the opportunity of traveling to four different islands together including Phi Phi, Koh Kai Nai, Khai Nai, and Koh Khai Nok Island. We snorkeled and explored the different scenery each distinct island brought us. Seeing the marine life was extremely exciting and showed me how diverse the wildlife is in Thailand.

            I also observed many different monkeys the Macaque species. One particular location that housed countless monkeys was Monkey Hill. Here I had the chance to feed and watch the monkeys interact with their environment- including the people. It was interesting to see how the people who lived around the area protected these monkeys even though they are known for causing destruction.

            Overall my trip has provided me with many different experiences including hardships, but especially rewarding opportunities. As someone who started college as undecided with no idea of where I wanted my future to go, this trip solidified my love for conservation biology whether that be in research or working as a wildlife veterinarian. I am extremely proud of my abilities to create and successfully execute a solo trip to an extremely different country that what I am accustomed to. I have learned so much about people from around the world and their views on different environmental issues. Knowing the different perspectives, I can see how difficult conserving different species or land areas can be. Again, I am so thankful for the opportunities I have been given at W&J, allowing me to grow as a student and all around person. I cannot wait to see where my future travels take me!