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Bringing Bananas to Elderly Elephants in Lampang, Thailand
Pang La is a hospice for elephants who are "used up." These elephants are old, sick, crippled, or man-killers. Once they spent their days grunting as they towed massive logs, destroying their own forests. They hauled tourists on heavy platforms with straps that slit their underbellies and ruined their spines. Or they dangerously walked on tightropes in decadent circuses before naïve spectators. Now they spend quiet days and nights in the forest of Doi Pa Muang and come down to the valley for a morning check up and treats from visitors. The care of their mahouts are acts of mercy and friendship as the elephants learn to trust. Visiting a nursing home is not on most tourist brochures, but these highly intelligent "old folks" will peek with curiosity at visitors who break the routine of their day. To win friends and influence elephants, bring bananas.
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- Carole LaBauve Tory .... Congratulations on such a brilliantly written and forgotten subject. Well deserved!
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- Megan Cytron (Editor) Congratulations! You won 1st Place Writing and Honorable Mention Photography in the Weekly Worldwide Contest.
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- Megan Cytron (Editor) What a beautiful spot! Thanks for submitting.
