Southeast Asia is home to some incredibly interesting wildlife.  Many visitors planning trips to the region may even have difficulty conjuring images of exotic Thailand without thinking of elephants, while others would be surprised to know that both neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia are home to some of the last colonies of endangered fresh-water dolphins.

Many of Smiling Albino guests are interested in getting up-close-and-personal animal experiences, whether it’s riding elephants or seeing monkeys and tigers.  While opinion varies greatly as to what constitutes an animal-friendly environment, there is no doubt that elephant camps and tiger ‘shows’ range from downright abusive to caring and free.  We don’t claim to be experts on the subject of animal welfare, but here’s our take on a range of places where visitors to Southeast Asia can experience some of the region’s exotic animals.

Indigenous work-“horses”: Elephants and Water Buffalo:

Ayuthaya Elephant Ride

Two creatures that have long been integral aspects of the Thai culture and economy are elephants and water buffalo.  Thailand’s elephant population was once one of the kingdom’s greatest assets: Elephants were previously used for warfare, transportation, and as laborers in the nation’s timber industry, the lattermost of which ironically facilitated widespread destruction of their habitat.  No longer of much use in any of these three fields, elephants are almost exclusively employed in tourism nowadays.

In elephant camps from Chiang Mai to Phuket, visitors now have the opportunity to climb aboard these massive beasts of burden for rides through the jungle, occasionally entertained by elephants tricks, including painting and playing musical instruments. The Thai Elephant Conservation Center (T.E.C.C.) in Lampang houses the royal stable of albino elephants, operates an elephant hospital and mobile clinic, and a home-stay/mahout training school for visitors.

While many camps do not offer such caring treatment as TECC, others think that elephants doing anything other than being elephants is inhumane.  The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai may be the most elephant-centric operation.  At this exclusive sanctuary for a small herd of lucky elephants, there are no exploitative shows or elephant rides; instead, guests are put to work as “volunteers” building mud-baths and laboring to create a sanctuary where elephants can roam freely and live in a protected natural environment, much as they do in Khao Yai National Park, one of the last refuges of Thailand’s wild elephant populations.  

Other recommended elephant experiences include the annual Surin Elephant Round-Up, the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, the Four Seasons Tented Camp Chiang Mai (which has its own stable of elephants), and the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia’s Mondulkiri Province, where visitors can spend a week or more experiencing the life of a mahout (elephant handler), looking after the elephants and mastering the art of commanding elephants to do their bidding in a caring and compassionate manner.

Even the buffalo is smiling!

Like the elephant, the water buffalo was previously employed in a vital facet of the Thai economy: the “Thai tractors” of yesteryear rice farming.  While the water buffalo commands widespread respect in old-school, agrarian Cambodia, in Thailand the buffalo are learning tricks to compete for the tourist dollars. At the Chiang Mai Monkey Centre, the monkeys are optional; instead, get hands-on experience riding bareback (and barefoot!) on a thick, hairy buffalo.  They’re really gentle creatures and more comfortable to ride than elephants are.  You can trudge through the wet-rice fields, watch the buffalo dance, or see farmers walk atop the famous buffalo bridge.

Interestingly enough, it’s possible to have a somewhat similar experience just beyond your hotel balcony at the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai.  The resort grounds have working rice fields in which you can get dirty playing buffalo rider before going to the spa, where you will think you’ve suddenly been teleported to a wat in Burma.  However, the ultimate water buffalo experience may be the annual Chonburi Buffalo Races held each October; local farmers race their prized buffalos through the center of the capital city, compete in tug-of-wars between man and buffalo, and enjoy music and festivities including a Miss Water Buffalo beauty contest!

Tigers:

It is estimated that only perhaps 150-200 Indochinese Tigers remain in Thailand’s wilderness, while an unknown number roam the remote corners of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, including the dense jungles of Ratanakiri’s Virachey National Park.

While there is fierce public debate about the quality of treatment provided or whether it’s right to confine animals that are meant to live in the wild, sadly there is less and less “wild” for them to live in.  There is no doubt that some tiger shows are blatantly exploitive: tigers jumping through flaming hoops to deafeningly loud Thai pop music, but others should be commended their efforts to prevent poaching and trafficking.

Roar of Approval

One popular place to visit tigers in Thailand is the Tiger Conservation Project at Wat Paluangtabua Yannasampanno in Kanchanaburi.  When the temple was first founded, a wounded rooster was brought in, followed by a wounded boar, and then a tiger cub, which was nearly drowned by poachers.  The abbot realized that his calling was to care for animals and the temple became known as a place that would do so, eventually accepting herds of cows and other animals from those making merit.  Over the years, this included a number of tiger cubs whose mothers’ were killed by farmers or poachers.

The temple has now raised many cubs to adulthood and others have been born in captivity.  While there has always been a buzz on the grapevine that the tigers were being drugged, visitors are allowed to walk with the tigers for their daily playtime in an open quarry and judge for themselves; an exhilarating (if not terrifying) experience that belies the drug claim, particularly when the tigers aggressively wrestle with one another. – Tip: If you hairdo looks like a frizzy ball of yarn, wear a hat.

Monkeys and Apes!

While a variety of monkeys are commonly found in the wilds of Southeast Asia’s jungles, on many islands, and even in the downtown areas of quite a few cities, there are a few opportunities to get involved in a different kind of monkey business.

The Monkey Festival in Lopburi, Thailand recently celebrated its 22^nd anniversary this past November.  Another grand feast in honor of the town’s resident monkeys was held on the grounds of the City Shrine and Phra Prang Sam Yord, an Angkor-era Cambodian temple where many of the monkeys reside.  Nearly 2,000kg of food was laid out as a banquet for the monkeys, who are believed by some locals to be ancient spirits that provide protection to the city.  There is no free lunch for the simians of the Monkey Training College in Surat Thani, Thailand.  Founded by Krue Somporn, whose celebrity pet monkey once carried the Surat Thani flag at the Thai National Games, the college offers instruction to local coconut farmers on employing monkeys to pick coconuts from trees.  One good monkey can out pick 10 men!  In their free time, the monkeys perform a daily show to visitors.

Gibbon in Cambodia

While one must travel to Borneo or Sumatra to see orangutans in rehabilitation centers or in the wild, there are some lesser known but just as adorable apes that inhabit mainland Southeast Asia.  One of our favorites places is the Highland Farm Gibbon Sanctuary, located near the Thai-Burmese border in Tak Province.  Highland Farm cares for a range of wildlife, including dozens of pileated gibbons.  These fascinating little apes are one of the most musical animals on Earth, singing love songs to each other as part of a courtship for lifelong monogamous relationships.  Visitors and guests of the farm, who can do a short home-stay or month-long volunteer commitment, will observe the caring treatment that includes feeding, cleaning, and lots of TLC.

Another places to learn about gibbons is the Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity, outside Siem Reap, Cambodia, which looks after a pair of gibbons, and lots of other interesting local wildlife, including pangolin.  Even more Cambodian wildlife, including monkeys, apes, elephants, tigers, leopards, birds, and reptiles is cared for at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary.  Covering 6,000 acres of countryside just south of Phnom Penh, it’s a must-see daytrip from the Cambodian capital city!

For more information on these animal encounters:

Thai Elephant Conservation Center (T.E.C.C.): http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/

Elephant Nature Park: http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/

Kings Cup Elephant Polo: http://www.anantaraelephantpolo.com/

Four Seasons Tented Camp: http://www.fourseasons.com/goldentriangle/

The Elephant Valley Project: www.elie-cambodia.org  

Riding Buffalos at the Chiang Mai Monkey Centre: http://www.travelhubchiangmai.com/attractions/monkey-center.html

Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi: http://www.mandarinoriental.com/chiangmai/

Chonburi Buffalo Races: http://www.tourismthailand.org/see-do/events-festivals/info-page/cat/11/event/231/

Surin Elephant Round Up: http://www.tourismthailand.org/see-do/events-festivals/info-page/cat/3/event/2445/

Surat Thani Monkey Training School: http://www.thailandroad.com/trevor/samuigrey.html

Lopburi Monkey Festival: http://www.lopburiinnresort.com/english/monkey_festival.html

Wat Paluangtabua Yannasampanno: www.boonheng.com, http://trevorranges.wordpress.com/category/thailand-travels/

Highland Farm Gibbon Sanctuary: http://www.highland-farm.org/

Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity: http://www.accb-cambodia.org/en/index.php

Stay Tuned for More Animal Experiences:

Stay Tuned for More Animal Experiences