Spotlight
Every quarter, World Elephant Alliance
will highlight an elephant venue.
Heart of Ganesh
Sundari Sitaram founded Heart of Ganesh in 2014 in response to the suffering and decimation of elephants she witnessed during a research trip throughout Asia a year earlier. Selling her Yoga Meditation center and personal possessions to fund the beginnings of Heart of Ganesh, Sundari left the USA to live full-time among those she longed to help, transforming her grief into action.
Recognizing that changing the future for elephants requires changing the present for the people who live among them, Heart of Ganesh focuses on expanding projects which bring together animal welfare and environmental conservation while navigating the societal complications caused by collisions of poverty, climate change, and habitat loss.
Heart of Ganesh is involved in several projects in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Thailand:
- “Not On My Bucket List” is a tourism awareness campaign to highlight and encourage the boycott of tourist attractions that abuse elephants.
- “Dogs with Heart” helps stray dogs in the areas around Human Elephant conflict with spay-neuter, flea treatment and other medical emergencies.
- “Elephants Can’t Read” set up a library in a rural Cambodia village for the children of mahouts, so that they may use education to climb out of poverty.
- “Ganga: Prisoner of Gangaramaya Temple” is an awareness campaign to bring attention to the wild-born female elephant Ganga, who is now held captive in isolation at the Gangaramaya temple.
- “HEC Field Guides” were field guides developed to educate humane methods of addressing human-elephant conflict in conflict-prone areas.
- “Honeybees and Orange Trees” are experimental initiative to use cultivated honeybee hives and wild orange trees to deter Sri Lankan elephants from farms adjoining the forests.
- “Rewilding with Butterflies and Bees” is an experimental initiative to switch to organic methods of farming in the areas surrounding the forests.
- “Service from the Heart” helps selective families in the conflict areas with members with physical disabilities, with basic necessities.
- “The Elephant Love Project” was an educational campaign to connect children of school age through a fun card game that builds empathy for elephants.
- “TukTuk Books” is an educational initiative to make library books available to disadvantaged mahout communities in Sri Lanka with the help of tuk tuks.
Please consider supporting this important organization that helps the animals as well as human communities living around them.
Previous Spotlights
Asian Elephant Wellness Project
Asian Elephant Wellness Project (AEWP) began working in Sauraha, in Nepal in 2016. Sauraha is a small town on the border of India, next to Chitwan National Park. There are private, government and wild elephants in the area. When we first started working here in 2016, there were over 100 government elephants and 60 private elephants each doing 4-6 safari rides a day with 4-6 people on their backs. When not working, the elephants are kept behind hotels, often chained by 2-3 legs. It was apparent that there was a lot to do to improve the welfare of the elephants in Nepal.
AEWP retired their first elephant Sita Kali in February of 2019, to a piece of land outside of town where she could rest and recover. Sita had been attacked by another elephant in April 2018 and broke her back and/or pelvis. She could no longer lie down to sleep as she did not have the strength in her back legs to push herself up. She collapsed twice in 2018 and developed a large pressure sore on her left hip from being down for 6 days on that side. Dr. London began helping the local vets treat the wound daily and encouraged Sita, using produce, to go on daily small walks. It quickly became apparent to everyone that Sita was never going to be able to work again doing safaris and so she was financially useless to her owners as they have elephants to use for rides and make money from.
In 2021 the decision was made to move Sita to join 6 other retired elephants with hopes that Sita would make friends. Shortly after moving, Dr. Trish London and Sita met a neighbor working elephant Jaymati Kali, an elephant in her 80s who had not defecated in 10 days. Elephants get six sets of 4 molars throughout their lives and Jaymati lost all but one of her teeth, so she couldn’t chew and digest her food easily. Dr. London began doing twice daily enemas until she finally passed a 33 lb fecal bolus. Due to her debilitated state, Jaymati’s owners finally consented to stop using her for rides and lease her to Asian Elephant Wellness Project. We began taking care of Jaymati in April 2021 thinking that she was a hospice case and preparing to provide Jaymati with the best days, weeks, months we could, but she recovered completely showing us the mischievous funny grandma that she is. During this time of intense medical care for Jaymati, Sita and Jaymati became close friends, with Sita trying to follow Jaymati wherever she would go.
In 2022, the decision was made to move Sita and Jaymati to a 10 acre piece of land with a river running through the middle of it, and a large chain free barn was built. The barn was built tall enough to allow a machine to lift Sita if necessary. Sita can’t lie down to sleep so she sleeps on a metal tripod. Both elephants are older and each with a variety of different health problems. They require special diets and a variety of medicines and supplements and daily medical treatments. A big pot of brown rice, molasses, pumpkin and cabbage is cooked every day that both girls get at night. They both get 10-15 kg of seasonal produce twice a day and big truck loads of sugarcane are delivered monthly.
We have to be very careful with what we feed Jaymati and the winters are very hard on her. She wears two coats and we installed a heater for her to sleep under at night. Jaymati goes to the local community forest daily from 10-3 with her mahout where she can forage on a variety of grasses, vines and trees in the jungle. Sita unfortunately can’t make that 5+ km walk so she hangs out at the property during the day. But there is bamboo on the land and a big grazing area in the spring/summer.
If pre-arranged, visitors are welcome to visit for a couple hours or volunteer for a day or even weeks to months. Donations are needed to help provide the food for the elephants and salaries for the 6 staff that take care of the retired elephants.
Goals for Asian Elephant Wellness Project include:
- Possible retirement of additional elephants with medical issues
- Fencing the land so the elephants can have more autonomy.
- Continued education on the current condition of captive elephants in Nepal and
- Continued pressure to improve the welfare of all captive elephants with hopes of all elephants moving to sanctuary
model and to stop safari rides.
Global Sanctuary for Elephants
Global Sanctuary for Elephants (GSE) was established by Scott and Kat Blais in 2014, when a group of internationally recognized experts examined the state of captive elephants in South America, finding the situation to be dire. At that time, South America was uniquely suited for a well-designed sanctuary, as progressive legislation had been passed to outlaw the use of elephants in performing environments in some states. That left many captive elephants in unsafe, unhealthy, and sometimes dangerous situations, as there was not an existing elephant sanctuary in South America. A solution was needed, and Scott and Kat, experts with 50+ years of combined experience in elephant care and welfare, stepped forward to fill the growing need for care and safe housing. Scott had extensive experience in creating a natural-habitat, protected contact sanctuary, having co-founded The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
GSE’s initial program, Elephant Sanctuary Brazil (ESB), has welcomed seven elephants to date, and currently is home to five female Asian elephants: Bambi, Lady, Maia, Mara, and Rana. In the near future, an additional two female Asian elephants are slated to arrive, followed by three African female elephants, and one male Asian elephant. In order to build a healthier habitat for three African elephants, GSE is raising funds to expand the female African habitat in preparation for their arrival. Their Room to Roam campaign is ongoing and all funds go toward this expansion.
Global Sanctuary for Elephants believes strongly that, after lifetimes of abuse and neglect, captive elephants should be given the respect, space for emotional and physical healing, and autonomy to make their own decisions that has been denied them for decades. These sentient beings are immensely intelligent and capable of healing from intense trauma, when given the proper environment and care. GSE aims to develop and support spacious, holistic, natural-habitat sanctuaries, both domestically and internationally.
Lilayi Elephant Nursery
The Elephant Orphanage Project was established in 2007, with critical and on-going funding from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Olsen Animal Trust, with the mission of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned elephants back into the wild. The Elephant Orphanage Project is part of a conservation initiative developed and operated by Game Rangers International, a Zambian, non-profit NGO.
The project run by GRI and working alongside the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). GRI is a multi-faceted network encompassing law-enforcement, community outreach and education, research and policy, anti-trafficking and animal welfare.
Throughout Zambia elephant calves are found orphaned or displaced as a result of ivory poaching and human-elephant conflict. Under the age of two years old these calves are very unlikely to survive without the incredibly nutrient rich milk of their mothers.
Once an orphan has been identified, DNPW and GRI work to either stabilize the calf in situ or bring it to the safety of the Elephant Nursery in Lusaka. Here an experienced team of Keepers and veterinary specialists provide round the clock care, nursing the traumatized calves back to health.
Over time they begin to bond and socialize with the other orphans within the Nursery and gradually begin to form a new family. Once physically strong enough and old enough to be weaned from milk formula the elephants are moved to the Elephant Release Facility in a remote region of KAFUE National Park where they join the older orphaned elephants in a much bigger herd. Here they learn the importance of herd structure, hierarchy and etiquette, which is a vital element of their development and journey back into the wild to once again become wild elephants. The beauty of the facility is that every new arrival is greeted by old friends who have graduated before them, so while they are leaving friends behind at the Lilayi Nursery, they are re-united with friends who had made the journey before them. Now rather than learning from humans, it is the older and more experienced orphans who assume the role of teacher and protector, while the large team of keepers and staff monitor their safety, comfort and health with limited human contact and interaction.
Third Quarter of 2021
Reteti Elephant Sanctuary
A Community United for Elephants
The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary was officially opened by the Samburu County Governor, H.E Moses Lenolkulal, on the 20th August 2016.
Designed to Rescue and release orphaned and abandoned elephant calves, whilst creating much needed benefits to the local people that live alongside them. The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, is the representation of the communities standing up united for wildlife, in recognition of the value that they can cultivate.
Opportunities are being created, livelihoods are improving and wildlife is returning, proving that nature can provide a sustainable economy for the populations that occupy its magnificent ecosystem.
The orphaned elephants that are cared for by the Samburu community, are symbols of a new wave of thinking about wildlife and the environment, that goes far beyond traditional conservation methods, and dives deeper into the core value of what nature represents.
Second Quarter of 2021
Elephant Haven
We are Sofie Goetghebeur and Tony Verhulst, the co-founders of Europe’s first sanctuary for the relocation of retired, abandoned or confiscated captive elephants. The question of what to do with rehoming circus/zoo elephants has given rise to the creation of sanctuaries in Asia, Africa and America.
This was our story so far beginning 2020. Meanwhile we are ready to offer the first 3 female elephants a place to retire.
Why EHEES (Elephant Haven European Elephant Sanctuary)
We realize we are a small sanctuary, and it’s still captivity for the elephants… In our small way we want to do what we can to give them the opportunity to be elephant again. A Sanctuary is lots of TLC for the elephants, where elephants are priority and where they
have the choice…
The central principle of a sanctuary for elephants is the recognition of, and respect for, their biological qualities and for their need for freedom to make personal choices about their daily lives and activities.
- EHEES was first registered in 2012 as a Non Profit organisation in Belgium (VZW)
- When the land was sourced in France, on which to build the sanctuary, EHEES registered in 2014 as a Non Profit in France (Association loi 1901, d’intérêt général).
- The organisation has completed Phase 1 of its strategic plan, providing immediate
space, of over 4 hectares, with 3 separate elephant enclosures (a heated barn, a pre parc
and parc) for up to 3 female elephants.
The total site is 29 hectares with possibility to expand another 20 hectares
We will expand as soon as possible.
Our Mission
• To offer elephants a place for life.
• The resocialization and rehabilitation of elephants.
• To develop informative programmes about elephants and their complex needs and behaviour, in captivity and in the wild.
• To develop educational programmes about the local fauna and flora.
• To encourage a reconnection with nature, and all her creatures, to raise awareness and respect for the environment.
Our Principles
• Elephant Haven stands for respect for animals, humans and nature.
• The elephants at Elephant Haven will be provided space and tranquility.
• The elephants should not be chained or restrained.
• The interaction between the caregivers and the elephants is based on “protected contact”, using only positive training methods.
• Elephant Haven will not breed the elephants.
• When making decisions during both the construction phases and daily operations, we take a sustainable, “green” approach into account, as much as possible, to protect the environment and conserve nature.
• Volunteers and visitors may observe the elephants but will have no direct contact with them.
Currently we are in a position to accept up to 3 female elephants, thanks to the help of amazing volunteers and the support of incredible partners!
We are in a very delicate situation where elephant owners are reluctant to bring their elephants to a sanctuary. We try to convince them we are here to help, to offer the elephants a place for life, a nice retirement. It’s about the elephant…
There is an urgent need for elephant sanctuaries in Europe, where more and more elephants are being banned from circuses but where they have no viable alternative to finish out their lives with comfort, dignity and a maximum of freedom. In Asia, Africa and America, some elephants are finding a new home in sanctuaries, but such havens did not exist in Europe. It is because of our passion for one of the most loved and one of the most unusual animal species in the world that we decided to start Elephant Haven.
We wish to provide a sanctuary where elephants can enjoy their old age; without chains, chores, tasks, or spectacle. Given the physiological needs of elephants, we decided to launch this project in France, where there is more undeveloped and affordable land, plenty of ponds, rivers, streams, lakes, varied terrain, substantial hay, ample forests with edible trees, a temperate climate, and a very central location to all of Europe. Elephant Haven will reach out to schools, universities and other organizations. We wish to help elephants in captivity and in the wild. By doing guided tours for groups of all ages we will encourage a re-connection with nature and with all her creatures. The largest land mammal can open the door for raised awareness and respect of our environment. We also believe that no project can be successful without a good neighbor policy. That’s why we will involve local businesses, schools, farmers, artists and artisans every step of the way. Our commitment is to be a safe haven for elephants who need us and to help everyone recognize that we need elephants. Over the past 20 years, working at the Antwerp Zoo, meeting other passionate elephant professionals, traveling to zoos and sanctuaries worldwide, we have learned a lot about elephants and our respect has grown with each encounter. We look forward to discovering more and more and sharing our commitment to these exceptional beings.
Every little help means a big push for EHEES
Thank you for your support
Learn more at our youtube channel.
First Quarter of 2021
View from Mahouts Elephant Foundations Guest Lodge.
Mahouts Elephant Foundation
Founded on patience and peace and built through hard work and trust. We are a foundation that works through groundbreaking collaborations with local communities fostering harmony and protecting Asian elephants and the communities that co exist with them.
Sarah Blaine with Community Members
Mahouts Elephant Foundation was founded by the Blaine family from England – Sarah, Felix, Joe and Natasha – who are impassioned about the natural world and all animals. In 2008 they travelled to Thailand and part of this trip was spent at a volunteer project, which would change their lives forever. They learned so much about Elephants working in the tourism industry in Thailand. The industry often unknowingly forces mahouts and their families into a desperate poverty trap that few can escape, meaning the families are impoverished and the welfare of the elephant is compromised.
Mur Lah and Mokimee
After a decade of experiencing all sides to this complex story, Sarah and Felix Blaine teamed up with the people who know the issues intimately but are often left out of conversations, Karen indigenous mahouts.
Together, they came up with community driven solutions that allow mahouts and elephants to thrive together.
We work with a unique safari-style model of elephant tourism in direct partnership with communities, empowering them with the tools the require to support their families and their elephants in their home village, rather than selling their elephants or employing them to work near big cities – THIS MULTIFACETED APPROACH ACHIEVES MANY THINGS.
It cuts off the supply of elephants to the tourism industry, stops the demand of tourists by offering ethical alternatives, brings a sustainable source of income to impoverished communities, and provides science- based evidence showing good elephant welfare.
We complement our tourism model with a scientific research program collaborating with international experts to expand the current body of knowledge on Asian elephant behaviour and biology.
We partner with progressive NGO’s, companies and industry stakeholders to gain much needed funding enabling us to work with unparalleled impact and potential.
We work widely to raise awareness speaking at events and conferences raising awareness about the welfare issues facing captive working Asian elephants and the poverty trap their mahouts find themselves in.
Founder and CEO Sarah Blaine has spoken for many years at leading international conferences and events including PAWS California, Animals in Tourism event in London, at the AITO conference, a conference in Vietnam and at the annual ABTA animals in tourism workshop.
Ya Bu
Mokijue
Our LIFE project – (Living in the forest with elephants) is located in the mountains of northern Thailand in a Karen community who have had captive and wild elephants at the heart of their life for generations. Indigenous communities and their elephants are amongst the most vulnerable in Thai society. With a lucrative elephant tourism industry in the cities they are often left with no option than to sell, rent or take their elephants to work in tourism.
What we have found is a catastrophic effect of these elephants leaving large forests, once they have all left the forest is in danger of being cleared for cash crops such as corn.
Our model not only protects the elephants but also culture and community and in turn the forest, on which an abundance of wildlife is dependent.
We have created a community based tourism model through which every member of the community can benefit. This model empowers ALL members of the community to be a part of the model. It also gives a voice to elephant owners and mahouts who are impassioned to keep their elephants in natural habitat.
The elephants live in a large forest habitat extending to many thousands of acres. They are free to roam and forage for 100% of their diet. The mahouts become caretakers checking on them every few days. We take small groups of tourists – (usually a maximum of 8 at any one time) out to see the elephants, we are completely hands off – no feeding or interaction at all. Guests enjoy just observing and taking LOTS of photos!
We welcome:
- short stay guests; for a 3 or 4 night stay
- Volunteers; for a 5 night stay
- Researchers under our research program.
- International school groups.
Guests can stay either in a home stay or our purpose built guest lodge.
We encourage community immersion and an exchange of cultures, encouraging
guests to talk about their countries and lives so this is a two way process.
We offer:
- Fabric weaving with the ladies
- Basket weaving with the men
- Medicinal plant hikes
- Cooking
- Music evening with traditional instruments
- Rice planting / harvest / pounding
Volunteer activities vary seasonally. Our guests leave us with treasured memories to last a lifetime; reviews can be found here on our website; https://www.mahouts.org/reviews
In January 2020 we had a new arrival, beautiful Mur Lah was born in the forest, daughter of Mum Mokijue and sister to Mokimae, her father is a wild bull who visits the forest and elephants every dry season, making the long journey from nearby national parks. We named her Mur Lah and translated her name means
Hope, after 2020 the world needs to heal and Mur Lah is our little girl of hope as we emerge from the global pandemic.Our guests abruptly stopped coming as borders closed in the early part of 2020, our aim is for each project to become sustainable through tourism so of course this has caused us much distress this year as loss of income hit hard. We are fortunate to have been around for a long time and have some incredible donors all around the world. From large international organizations, small family organizations and individual donors many have come to our aid.
We have kept the community going with English speaking lessons and hospitality and wildlife guide training, we have so many exciting plans in the works including yoga and mindfulness retreats and the launch of a very exciting way to camp out in the forest with our team enjoying a couple of days immersed in the forest with the elephants and many species of wildlife.
We have ground breaking research planned and are very excited to welcome back researchers to the community and forest.
Today is January 9th and it is Mur Lah’s FIRST birthday, she is deep in the forest with her family as we celebrate at the start of the New Year and our hope for the future.
For more information please see website: www.mahouts.org