I'm in Bali, Indonesia right now and I decided to visit the Elephant Safari Park with my girlfriend.
We both love elephants and think they're magnificent creatures. However, one of the concerns we've had about visiting any of the elephant tour spots in Thailand was the poor treatment of the elephants.
In most locations, the elephants are treated poorly. They're taken away from their natural habitat, punished, harmed, sick, injured and are used to make money. So we decided against doing any elephants tours while in Thailand because of this.
After doing research, we discovered the Elephant Safari Park in Bali and learned about the founder, Nigel, rescued the elephants and saved their lives.
We watched the documentary Operation Jumbo, which shares how he rescues 10 elephants in other parts of Indonesia to bring them to Bali, saving their lives and how they treat them extremely well. They use reward methods to train the elephants, instead of pain and punishment. The elephants are treated well and although not in the most ideal environment, a much better one than the one where they currently were.
I put together some video clips of my experience at the Elephant Safari Park in Bali, which you can view below or on YouTube.
Watch the video below:
(Click here to watch on YouTube)