Baby Elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand

All you need to know about Thailand is that you can meet baby elephants there. Baby elephants like two-month-old Boon.

Boon was born a runt. So in the photo above, you can see how little he is, especially compared to his mother, who stands in the background. The wooden post you see on one of her legs is not a shackle. It is a wooden stepladder so that Boon can step up to get milk, because otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to reach.

His mother and other gentle giants are free to roam around at the Patara Elephant Farm, where they’re treated to baskets of fruit, forest treks and brush baths. Here’s the link: http://www.pataraelephantfarm.com/

Baby Boon tricked me.  He looked so cute and helpless, unable to stand up quickly when he fell over. Check out this video:

 

But then I learned that two-month old baby elephants that are “runts” actually weigh two hundred pounds and are like tiny, muscular bulldozers. Here’s evidence:

By now, Boon must be a towering giant. I hope to see Boon and his family of gentle giants again someday.  Be well, my friends.