Aloha,
Today was a very busy but also a very fun and exciting day! We left PHRII at 6:45am because our drive was about 2 hours away. We are all used to waking up early though because yoga starts at 6:30am every day. We all packed our food the night before because we wanted to make sure we had some food to eat during the long drive rides. The drive was very long too, it was a little over 2 hours. However, like I said in previous posts, I really do enjoy the car rides, you get to see so much of the different parts of India this way.
Our first stop was Dubare Elephant Camp, we got there around 9am which was perfect timing because there weren’t too many people yet. It was only about 50 rupees per a person, so less than a dollar to go see elephants, deals! I thought it was going to be way more expensive, but I am glad it wasn’t. We had to take a boat across the river, but it was maybe a one minute boat ride, the river wasn’t very wide. When we got into the camp, they were just bringing the elephants out. I don’t know why but it took me by surprise that the elephants were in chains. I thought it was one of those camps where the elephants could just roam more freely, so seeing these chains kind of took me off guard. It was actually sad to see, I felt bad for them. I recently just saw a video and an article about how to tell the difference between an actual sanctuary and an abusive camp, I will put the link in below. It basically tells the difference of how the elephants are treated and their lifestyles. In a sanctuary they are able to wonder by themselves, with no chains or anyone trying to lead them to a certain place. There are no bathing, no riding or no forced photoshoots. The elephants can come and go as they please, it is all their choice. However, at a camp they have trainers that lead them with bull hooks, they have chains, and they are forced to entertain humans. I really want to visit a elephant sanctuary one of these days, but Dubare was definitely not a sanctuary.
Whoever is an animal lover I would recommend to look at the link below and become more aware of camps and sanctuaries. I think we should promote those sanctuaries that care for the animal’s wellbeing rather than just to make money. I do understand the appeal to visiting these camps because you can interact, up close, with these magnificent wild animals. I got to take pictures and pet them which I thought was so amazing because when and where will you ever get to do this again. However, I was just so sad for them that they were in chains and were forced to do things for human entertainment. I definitely had mix feelings while I was there, but now that I have done the research, I really wish I didn’t support this by paying. I would really recommend people to do the research first, we should make sure that any living thing shouldn’t be treated like this, just imagine if this was you. Would you like to be poked, chained and used?
Mahalo,
Maddie
Life in Mysore, India 