Volunteer with elephants at a sanctuary

“The day to day work I did at the sanctuary included feeding the elephants, taking them for walks, giving them baths, cleaning the enclosures. As well as special projects like painting fences and planting trees. I also helped in harvesting banana trees for the elephants, cleaning the kitchen and washing the dogs. There are so many things that I will treasure about my time at the sanctuary. I made new friends from all around the world. I got to walk several elephants, and feed them. Most amazingly - I got to feed a baby elephant! I watched the mahouts interact with their elephants, and could see that they truly enjoy their work, and respect and care for their elephants. The sanctuary staff truly love the elephants and are wonderful to the volunteers.”

“The next morning we had breakfast and left on a hike to the elephants! To see them in their natural habitat and playing with each other freely was so beautiful – how it should be! The other guests and I collected some data on their behavior, association and foraging habits. We also wrote diaries for each elephant, detailing their activities that we observed. Then we enjoyed our homemade lunch in the forest and hiked back to the village. We are hiking every morning to see the elephants but every day is different and exciting.”