Elephant Riding In Chiangmai

Maetang Elephant Park and Elephant Clinic

MAETAENG ELEPHANT PARK
ELEPHANTS HELPING ELEPHANTS CLINIC

Until very recently, any sick or injured elephant in the Maetaeng Valley and local area had to be transported by truck to Lampang Elephant Hospital a journey of 150 kilometers that takes roughly 3 hours. This is a traumatic journey for any elephant but when the animal is sick and in pain it adds extra stress and anxiety which often leads to further injury.

Maetaeng Elephant Park recognized the need to provide medical care for all elephants locally and in 2009 we set about raising the funds. Due to the wonderful efforts of fundraising volunteers and the local Chiangmai community our clinic is now a reality, and our full time vet, Pakkanut started work in March 2011

Maetaeng Elephant Park now provides FREE medical care not only for our own large herd of elephants but also for any other elephants in the local area who need treatment. This means that the mahout (elephant driver) can seek out veterinary care as soon as he is aware of a problem and get immediate treatment. This is all part of our policy of protecting Asian elephants and taking care of our mahouts.

Maetaeng Elephant Park – Elephants Helping Elephants..

With this idea in mind, we wanted to involve the elephants as much as we could and so we decided that all the profits from the sale of elephant art work would go to the clinic. This has been a great success and some of most talented elephants are painting on tee shirts, canvas, fabric (for making beautiful luxury items) and on our environmentally friendly elephant dung paper which we also make here in the park. Please visit our shop online.

Maetaeng Elephant Park vets are now able to treat some of the more common ailments of elephants such as:

Impaction: A common complaint suffered by elephants due to their diet which causes constipation.

Bot Fly Bites: These insects lay eggs under the skin and if left untreated can cause massive infections.

Cracked Toe Nails: Split and cracked toe nails are very painful for elephants and need daily treatment.

Snake Bites: The jungles around the Maetaman valley are home to dozens of different species of snakes many of them extremely dangerous and so snake bites are a constant threat.

Maternity Facilities: At our park we have a great success rate with the birth of baby elephants, but like all births there can be complications, the most common being breached birth where the calf is lying sideways in the womb. We now have the reassurance of having a vet on hand full time.

Tusk canal Infections: A very painful condition that can lead to loss or removal of a tusk.

With our vet and assistant on hand daily, elephants with these and other common problems can be monitored and treated here in the Maetaeng Elephant Park.

It goes without saying that every year hundreds of sick and injured elephants will be relieved of suffering quickly and efficiently as well as saving the lives of the dozen or so calves throughout the region that die annually during birth or shortly afterwards due to inadequate care.