Welcome to Lek Chailert’s Elephant Nature Park, where rescued animals come carrying physical injury and psychological pain. At the refuge, they are allowed to again be elephants—to socialize, raise families and develop friendships. These Asian Elephants (of which 35,000 are left on earth, half in captivity) often live for seven decades; they recognize themselves in a mirror; relationships are important to them; and, of course, they don’t forget. As elephant caretaker Olivia Daniel says, “They are like people, but nicer.” But what happens to one of the planet’s largest and most intelligent mammals as Asia’s population explodes and the animal’s habitat is destroyed? There’s only so much room at Lek Chailert’s.
—Mary Duffy