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In December 2021, I had the privilege of visiting the Chok Chai Camp, which has a dubious reputation throughout Thailand, with Lek Chailert and her team several times.
Before the Corona crisis, this camp was mostly visited by well-heeled tourists from China and Russia. They paid the equivalent of an entrance fee of around €25 and were offered: elephant riding, rafting, zip-lining, there was even a show based on the circus and an elephant was forced to ride a bicycle specially made for him.

The camp was known even among Thais for the miserable circumstances. When the 70+ animals weren’t “on duty,” they were chained to a tiny platform with almost no freedom of movement. Mother & Baby’s were separated, the 7 male elephants were locked in a small enclosure and also chained to the ground.

Due to the Corona crisis and the absence of paying customers from China and Russia, the camp came under severe pressure and could neither feed the elephants nor pay the elephant guides. The camp’s owner, Uncle Eddie, sought and received help from Lek Chailert and the Save Elephant Foundation SEF .

Volunteers came with Lek to clean up over 6 months of elephant droppings. The platform was cleaned for the first time ever and a drinking facility was created for the elephants, to which they also have access at night.

The camp will gradually be completely rebuilt according to the principles of the SEF and the life of the remaining 54 elephants will finally change for the better until the pachyderms can spend their old age with the greatest possible freedom.

But donations are urgently needed for this – without our help this change, this unique opportunity cannot be realized. Please help, every euro counts, every euro helps. You can donate to the Chok Chai on our donation page . Heart4Elephants.org will soon include some of these elephants in their sponsorship program.
The photos speak for themselves.