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March 13 – Koh Samui, Thailand
We are at Samui Island in Thailand this morning and will be utilizing the local tenders. Two of the tenders are waiting for us as we drop anchor.
Our optional
excursion today is to an elephant sanctuary. These elephants have been
identified as abused and have been purchased by the sanctuary so they can have
a safe place to live out their lives. These are Asian Elephants. They have
smaller ears than African Elephants as it is hotter in Africa than in Asia. The
facility raises a crop of grass that can be harvested to provide feed for the
elephants. They also purchase fruit and vegetables from local farmers to
supplement the elephant’s diet. The elephants are particularly fond of bananas.
The facility
also uses organic methods for processing the elephant waste. There was absolutely no odor. The observation
walkways are well above the elephants, but allow visitors to feed them. Each
visitor is given a basket that has the elephant grass in bundles in it as well
as some fruit. It was quite humorous to watch the elephants. A visitor would
give the elephant a bundle of grass and they’d take it and throw it over their
backs. They will eat it, but they know there is fruit in the basket, too and
they much prefer the fruit. The fruit they take and it immediately goes into
their mouth.
The elephants also drink a great deal of water. We watched as an elephant picked up a hose that was running and put it in it’s mouth so the water could go straight down it’s throat. While another one standing there tried to get the hose away from the first one.
After spending some time with the elephants, the facility served a buffet lunch.
Before
returning to the ship, we stopped at a view point for a popular waterfall.
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