00:00I visited the Bunlats Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand.
00:08I saw the elephants having a good bath.
00:17I thought they were just enjoying the water.
00:21But they were actually working elephants.
00:30When I visited this sanctuary, I was accompanied by their founder, Catherine Connor.
00:45What's the name of the elephant we're following?
00:49Tangsoy.
00:50Tangsoy, meaning beautiful?
00:52Yes.
00:53They say this elephant was in an accident because it was used for logging before.
01:00This is how the tourists interact.
01:03They just walk with them and forage.
01:07When I say forage, I mean letting them eat.
01:11They eat for about four hours.
01:13We can see that they're just talking to each other.
01:21They don't have bullhooks, but they can order each other around like dogs.
01:30You don't need to use force, but you need to build trust.
01:35These are the new elephant whispers.
01:38There's dog whisper, horse whisper.
01:41These are the elephant whispers.
01:49Tangsoy was the first to visit us.
01:56Tangsoy is an elephant from our local village here.
02:00She's only ever been used for logging.
02:02Tangsoy was pulling a big pile of logs down a hill, and she stopped.
02:09But the pile of logs did not.
02:11So the pile of logs came, smacked her in the back of the leg, and she broke her femur bone.
02:16So I agreed, and I took her in.
02:18And the owner comes to visit her every year.
02:25Aside from Tangsoy, I also met her best friend, Pangnoy.
02:32Tangsoy and Pangnoy are best friends.
02:36They're always together.
02:38I was shocked by Pangnoy's story.
02:41Pangnoy has always been an elephant in the north.
02:47Tom, I can stay here? Up to here?
02:50I'm so wild.
02:52In the wild, you can never be as close as this one.
02:57Ever since elephants were banned from being used for logging in 1989,
03:03the number of elephants cared for by the residents has increased.
03:09Only 3,000 elephants can be seen in the wild here in Thailand.
03:15Thailand has a very unique captive elephant situation.
03:19As far as I know, all the other Asian countries do not have the tourism industry that we have
03:24when it comes to elephant entertainment.
03:26So in Thailand, there are lots of shows, circuses, elephants giving rides with benches on their backs.
03:35All these activities are very physically damaging to the elephants.
03:40So, Bunlot Elephant Sanctuary is my apology to the elephants.
03:47In my visit to the elephant rescue center in Thailand,
03:52I got to know the group of elephants that they call Gossip Girls.
03:58This group is very loud.
04:04While having lunch,
04:07I bumped into the Gossip Girls.
04:10They are the ones approaching people.
04:13When we were together, I got to know them a little bit.
04:20They are more gentle to me.
04:31Do you like that?
04:37The members of Gossip Girls,
04:39Pangdaw,
04:41Lotus,
04:43and Wasana,
04:44are some of the most annoying and nosy people in the sanctuary.
04:52But despite their activity,
04:55their behavior is not good.
04:58Pangdaw has a broken wrist.
05:00We believe that she got that when she was used for forced breeding.
05:04Forced breeding is a real issue here in Thailand.
05:07Because all the tourists want to have their pictures,
05:11their selfies taken with baby elephants.
05:27Lotus is the other Gossip Girl.
05:29Lotus has a condition called foot rot.
05:32And that is a chronic infection in her feet
05:35When Lotus was giving rides,
05:37she would move very, very slowly.
05:39So the mahouts used to walk behind her with a bullhook
05:42and smack her on the back of the ankle.
06:05The third Gossip Girl,
06:07because of the severe wound on her foot,
06:10is still being treated until now.
06:14This is another special moment for me.
06:18As a vet, being a vet in the Philippines,
06:22we don't get to treat a lot of elephants.
06:26I tried to spell it just to check if there's any infection.
06:31Because her protective covering is damaged,
06:35dirt has a tendency to get it infected.
06:40Sensitive, still sensitive.
06:46I just fill the gap of the ointment.
06:51Sometimes you can also use honey.
06:53Yes, we did use medicated honey, but it was too expensive.
06:58Every day, a group of people are treating Catherine's foot.
07:12Socks are made with material that's donated from a sports company in Bangkok.
07:17So it's breathable.
07:19And they're made by one of the...
07:23It helps you so much.
07:25I'm so happy that I was able to help.
07:28It's a big thing for a veterinarian.
07:32They're hoping that the number of elephants that need to be rescued will not increase.
07:41According to Catherine,
07:42her feet are still being treated.
07:45Because of the ivory on their feet,
07:48poachers are targeting the elephants.
07:53In the past,
07:54there were around 100,000 Asian elephants in the wild.
07:59Now, their number is lower than 30,000.
08:05A large part of these elephants are illegal wildlife.
08:10A large part of these elephants are illegal wildlife.
08:18In the past, elephants were the source of income for the people in terms of work and tourism.
08:25Because of the many problems that elephants faced,
08:29they are facing a bigger problem now.
08:33Let's not wait for us to be the cause of their destruction.
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