Elephant Aid International : Projects
Mahout and Elephant Training Initiative (METI)
Location: Thailand, India and Nepal
What
Training mahouts and elephant care facilities in the use of Compassionate Elephant Care.
Where
1. Elephant Nature Park (ENP) outside Chiang Mai, Thailand.
· Number of mahouts: 36
· Number of elephants: 31, both male and female, ranging in age from one year to 63. All, except for two calves born at the center, are rescues from the logging industry, street begging and the tourist trade.
2. Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in northern Thailand. This center gives elephants access to forest for foraging, day and night.
- Number of mahouts: 12
- Number of elephants: 11, both male and female, ranging in age from one year to 55. All are rescues from the logging industry, street begging and the tourist trade.
3. Elephant’s World located outside of Bangkok, Thailand. This new Thai-run center is very traditional in management philosophy. The center borders a river and provides elephants access to wild vegetation for foraging during certain times of the year.
- Number of mahouts: 8
- Number of elephants: 8, both male and female, ranging in age from 5 to 65 years. All are rescues from the logging industry, street begging and the tourist trade.
View Video of Training Session with young male elephant name Jon recently rescued from street begging in Bangkok.
View Video of Jon Swimming in the river following his training session
4. Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFFT) south of Bangkok, Thailand. This center resembles a zoo in design and philosophy. It is well established and provides a high level of veterinary care for its residents.
- Number of mahouts: 4
- Number of elephants: 4 -- one young male and three females. All are rescues from the logging industry, street begging and the tourist trade.
5. Sauraha, Nepal. This facility is privately owned and not open to the public. The elephants are given access to the Chitwan National Park for foraging.
- Number of mahouts: 5
- Number of elephants: 5 -- one male calf, a mother and young sister plus two unrelated females.
6. (in development): National Trust Nature Conservancy (NTNC) located in Chitwan National Park in Nepal. NTNC differs from the private parks in Nepal because its resident elephants patrol the forest to protect wild elephants and Indian rhinos. In an effort to create a self-sustaining Compassionate Elephant Care program, NTNC would be encouraged to graduates later train the mahouts of privately owned elephants in the area.
- Number of mahouts: 15
- Number of elephants: 5
Learn more about Compassionate Elephant Care
Mahout and Elephant Training Initiative (METI)
EAI will continue to provide Positive Reinforcement Target Training for mahouts and elephants in Asia. A Positive Reinforcement Target Training instructional video has been produced for distribution to mahouts. Established programs in Thailand and Nepal will continue and be monitored to document evidence of the success of the technique. Permanently located satellite training centers will be developed to provide PRTT to mahouts, the goal being self sustainable centers, staffed by graduates of EAI’s training program.
