Kanta Elephant Sanctuary

Today something very special is on the agenda. I am picked up directly from the hostel by a minibus and pick up ten more people. Together we go to the elephant sanctuary for elephants, which is one hour away. These animals have really captured me with their good-natured manner and tiny eyes.

We have to change clothes and get an elephant-friendly outfit. Our guide is very funny and makes the informative part very entertaining. The oldest elephant among the 15 animals is 57 years old. With 15 animals, they are already at the limit of their capacity because they want to give the elephants enough space. They bought most of them from farmers or the circus to give them a better life here, away from hooks and chains. Others came from parks where elephant riding is still offered to tourists. And the kind with big baskets for two to four people. The poorest of the poor arrive very emaciated at the Kanta Elephant Sanctuary and are fed up. And they need a lot of food. One fact that cannot be overlooked and which is noticeable in the food intake is that they shit 150 kilos of shit per day... how crazy is that!? After the first round of information, everyone gets a bag of sugar cane. It's just a snack for the elephants, but they are very excited about it. After all, they eat 12-13 hours a day and only sleep three hours because they are awakened by hunger again. They are already waiting for us and from up close they appear much bigger. Actually, the Asian ones are the smaller relatives. But when they come rushing towards you with their centner-heavy weight and their flapping ears, you have to really restrain yourself in the first moment not to run away. Our guide pointed out that running away would only result in them following us because they hunt for sugar cane with their super sense of smell. After a while, I can really enjoy it. If they are still a bit too pushy, it is enough to gently push them away with their trunk. The skin of the animals is very warm, firm and a bit rough. You can feel them breathing through their trunk or how they fan themselves with their huge ears. They also have different characters. The younger ones pick up each piece of sugar cane individually and are very curious. Nothing is safe from their trunk. That's when you need to hold the camera tight and protect the food bag, otherwise you can quickly have a greedy trunk in it. The older ones first greedily collect as much of the sweet snack as possible... some of them even hoard it. After this snack break, we prepare a natural medicine which consists of bananas, bark, tamarind, and dried rice. Mix everything well and form it into balls, which are then wrapped in banana peels. When the command 'Bon Bon' is given, the elephants raise their trunks and open their mouths. Their strangely curved tongue then sucks the last bit off my fingers. After everything is cleaned up, we go to the daily bath. This is not only for pure pleasure but also to prevent parasites from settling under the skin. We get ladles and brushes and are supposed to scrub hard. It's a bit eerie because they toss back and forth and I'm a bit afraid of losing a foot. However, they clearly have fun and blow water into the air with their trunks. It is quite tight with five elephants in a small pond, but it is an incredible feeling when they rise right next to you. Sometimes I completely forget how big they are when they lie in the water and enjoy their massage. Eventually, they have had enough and leave the splash pool. Except for the youngest (4 years old), who really takes off again and enjoys the bath from all sides. The hours with these special animals pass too quickly and then it's time to say goodbye and I'm already back in the minibus. It all felt like a dream to me, one that I would love to dive into again.