More and more often you read that every Koh Samui elephant sanctuary is "fake", merely freeing the animals temporarily from the increasingly despised practice of elephant riding, while the operators supposedly couldn't care less about the elephants' actual wellbeing. In this article we want to take a closer look at how true these sweeping accusations really are!
We once again had the chance to visit one of the now-numerous elephant sanctuaries on Koh Samui in Thailand. There's already the Elephant Sanctuary Koh Samui, Care, Jungle Sanctuary, Home, Wellness, and the one we hadn't yet visited: Elephant Haven! We've now been to all of them! And as the saying goes: save the best for last! Because honestly, today's visit impressed us the most! The owner, whose family comes from Surin province and has been dedicated to elephant care for over 150 years (all fully licensed and properly insured), very kindly took several hours out of his day on the spot to explain the running of his sanctuary to us in detail and answer our countless questions.
The Elephant Haven grounds cover an impressive 60 rai, or 96,000m², which the owner rents. This includes at least 5 enclosures, 1 viewpoint with a restaurant area (soft drinks, coffee & tea, fried rice, fried vegetables, massaman curry, spring rolls, chicken, plus the chance to learn to make papaya salad from a star chef). There are also 3 swimming pools (2 regular ones and a natural stream), various elephant play areas (including in the lush jungle), a coffee house, and several accommodations for volunteers from many different nations, who help guide camp visitors, in groups of no more than 12, every single day.
15 staff members always look after 15 elephants (ranging from the youngest, just 12 days old, to much older ones). These elephants have been, and continue to be, bought free by the camp owner (1-3 million baht per elephant!), unless he raised them himself. And yes, some of them carry, because of their past, some pretty ugly marks or visible injuries... Like the one you can see in the photos we've provided (with the huge tusks!), who came from — and was bought free from — the Na Muang Waterfall trekking operation.
In our view, he now leads the kind of life he truly deserves. Huge respect to the operator for that! We're generally very impressed by his approach and morals when it comes to handling the elephants! No restraints of any kind, no chains, no fixed programme, no zoo-like performances — even touching them is completely forbidden, except perhaps during feeding! Day in, day out, the elephants here only do whatever they feel like doing at that moment. And all of this on grounds that could easily pass for an upscale resort. *In the enclosure they are only "parked" out of necessity, for example for reasons of their own safety and that of visitors (a mother's protective instinct towards a still-young calf). Otherwise, they roam around freely all day long!
The operator also doesn't allow private visits that are purely about petting and snapping photos. By his own account, countless people have already approached him offering money just to be able to touch the 12-day-old baby elephant (named "Haven")... All the more pleasing, then, that he turns down every single request!
The operator is well aware that the price of a visit is high (as of December 2019, every single Koh Samui elephant sanctuary charges a 3,000 THB entrance fee), and that plenty of visitors would love to touch, bathe with, cuddle, and generally get closer to the elephants. Quote: "The elephants' needs always come first, and we will never force them to do anything". Wonderful to hear! People might often try to paint you a rosy picture that isn't quite true... But we're firmly convinced that this isn't one of those cases, and we'd argue that this operator runs by far the best elephant sanctuary on Koh Samui. We recommend, without any hesitation, a genuinely worthwhile visit to Koh Samui Elephant Haven! Here, the word "support" really hits the nail on the head!
OperatorAre all the sanctuaries on Koh Samui fake?!.... No! As the example of Haven, and other operators on Koh Samui too, shows, the accusations mentioned at the start are by no means a blanket reality! Can it be ruled out that certain sanctuaries misuse the reputation of those who genuinely care about elephant welfare for shady purposes? No.... And may lightning strike them where it hurts! As a visitor, unfortunately, you simply can't look behind the scenes the way we were able to. That said, this is no reason to lump ALL operators and sanctuaries on Koh Samui together!! Do your research beforehand, as thoroughly as possible, based on other people's impressions & experiences! If you want to support elephants on Koh Samui, in our opinion there are 3 operators worth highlighting above all: 1. The Haven2. The Sanctuary as well as 3. The Wellness.
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We once again had the chance to visit one of the now-numerous elephant sanctuaries on Koh Samui in Thailand. There's already the Elephant Sanctuary Koh Samui, Care, Jungle Sanctuary, Home, Wellness, and the one we hadn't yet visited: Elephant Haven! We've now been to all of them! And as the saying goes: save the best for last! Because honestly, today's visit impressed us the most! The owner, whose family comes from Surin province and has been dedicated to elephant care for over 150 years (all fully licensed and properly insured), very kindly took several hours out of his day on the spot to explain the running of his sanctuary to us in detail and answer our countless questions.
The Elephant Haven grounds cover an impressive 60 rai, or 96,000m², which the owner rents. This includes at least 5 enclosures, 1 viewpoint with a restaurant area (soft drinks, coffee & tea, fried rice, fried vegetables, massaman curry, spring rolls, chicken, plus the chance to learn to make papaya salad from a star chef). There are also 3 swimming pools (2 regular ones and a natural stream), various elephant play areas (including in the lush jungle), a coffee house, and several accommodations for volunteers from many different nations, who help guide camp visitors, in groups of no more than 12, every single day.
15 staff members always look after 15 elephants (ranging from the youngest, just 12 days old, to much older ones). These elephants have been, and continue to be, bought free by the camp owner (1-3 million baht per elephant!), unless he raised them himself. And yes, some of them carry, because of their past, some pretty ugly marks or visible injuries... Like the one you can see in the photos we've provided (with the huge tusks!), who came from — and was bought free from — the Na Muang Waterfall trekking operation.
In our view, he now leads the kind of life he truly deserves. Huge respect to the operator for that! We're generally very impressed by his approach and morals when it comes to handling the elephants! No restraints of any kind, no chains, no fixed programme, no zoo-like performances — even touching them is completely forbidden, except perhaps during feeding! Day in, day out, the elephants here only do whatever they feel like doing at that moment. And all of this on grounds that could easily pass for an upscale resort. *In the enclosure they are only "parked" out of necessity, for example for reasons of their own safety and that of visitors (a mother's protective instinct towards a still-young calf). Otherwise, they roam around freely all day long!
The operator also doesn't allow private visits that are purely about petting and snapping photos. By his own account, countless people have already approached him offering money just to be able to touch the 12-day-old baby elephant (named "Haven")... All the more pleasing, then, that he turns down every single request!
The operator is well aware that the price of a visit is high (as of December 2019, every single Koh Samui elephant sanctuary charges a 3,000 THB entrance fee), and that plenty of visitors would love to touch, bathe with, cuddle, and generally get closer to the elephants. Quote: "The elephants' needs always come first, and we will never force them to do anything". Wonderful to hear! People might often try to paint you a rosy picture that isn't quite true... But we're firmly convinced that this isn't one of those cases, and we'd argue that this operator runs by far the best elephant sanctuary on Koh Samui. We recommend, without any hesitation, a genuinely worthwhile visit to Koh Samui Elephant Haven! Here, the word "support" really hits the nail on the head!
Are all the sanctuaries on Koh Samui fake?!.... No! As the example of Haven, and other operators on Koh Samui too, shows, the accusations mentioned at the start are by no means a blanket reality! Can it be ruled out that certain sanctuaries misuse the reputation of those who genuinely care about elephant welfare for shady purposes? No.... And may lightning strike them where it hurts! As a visitor, unfortunately, you simply can't look behind the scenes the way we were able to. That said, this is no reason to lump ALL operators and sanctuaries on Koh Samui together!! Do your research beforehand, as thoroughly as possible, based on other people's impressions & experiences! If you want to support elephants on Koh Samui, in our opinion there are 3 operators worth highlighting above all: 1. The Haven 2. The Sanctuary as well as 3. The Wellness.
