Elephant Nature Park was established in Chiang Mai in the 1990s by Lek Chailert, who has dedicated her life to fighting for animal rights and ending animal abuse. It was beautiful to witness Lek’s love and bond with the elephants who treat her as one of the herd. Lek’s example shows how the power of love and kindness can heal decades of abuse.

My favourite part of the day at Elephant Nature Park was the evening, when the elephants walked in groups down to the river. One family in particular was magical to watch and was always causing havoc. The two baby elephants would charge around, chasing the rescue dogs and trumpeting at us. Mud baths were one of their favourite activities and they would barge into each other, falling and wallowing in the mud. It was emotional to watch the sheer joy the elephants were experiencing. Although they had suffered awful abuse they were now where they belonged, playing and happy, surrounded by other elephants.