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Thongsuk Elephant Park的点评
点评：Unfortunately, we left this elephant experience feeling very different from how we felt when we arrived.
At first, it seems like a wonderful experience. We were introduced to three elephants, fed them, walked with them to the water and participated in bathing them. The staff and mahouts were friendly, and importantly, we did not personally see bullhooks being used.
However, as the experience continued, we became increasingly uncomfortable with how controlled and repetitive the interaction felt. During the bathing, one of the elephants was repeatedly prompted to perform the same water-spraying behaviour for tourists and photos. It wasn’t just once or twice, it happened over and over again. Combined with the organised photography and repeated interactions, it started to feel much more like a tourist performance than an opportunity to observe elephants behaving naturally.
What concerned us most happened afterwards.
We specifically asked where the elephants went when they were not participating in activities because we wanted to know whether they had an area where they could move around freely. We were initially told that the elephants were sleeping. I decided to look further into the area myself, and what I saw completely changed my opinion of the experience.
The elephants were individually tethered by their legs with very limited room to move. They appeared to have roughly a metre of movement around where they were secured. They were standing separately rather than freely moving around or socialising. One elephant was repeatedly moving its head backwards and forwards. Seeing this after having just spent time feeding and bathing the same animals was genuinely upsetting.
This is also why I think many visitors may leave a positive review. If you only see the visitor-facing part of the experience, you see elephants being fed and washed alongside friendly staff. We initially enjoyed it too. It was only after seeing what happened outside the tourist activity that our feelings changed completely.
We particularly hope families with children think carefully about this. An elephant encounter can be an incredible opportunity to teach children respect for animals, but that lesson should include allowing elephants space, choice and as much natural behaviour as possible. Feeding or touching an elephant for an hour should not distract us from asking how that elephant spends the other hours of its day.
We understand that caring for captive elephants in Thailand is complicated and expensive, and we are not suggesting that simply releasing these elephants into the wild is realistic. We also don’t want this review to be an attack on the individual mahouts or staff members we met. Our concern is with the system and the conditions in which the elephants are kept between tourist activities.
That is also why we are leaving this review rather than simply saying “never go here”. We genuinely hope the owners use the income generated by tourism to improve the elephants’ living conditions , particularly by investing in large, secure areas where they can move around, forage and interact with other elephants, with significantly less reliance on tethering and staged interactions.
We would happily pay considerably more for an experience where we knew that our money was supporting better welfare and where visitors observed elephants making their own choices rather than performing repeated behaviours for photographs.
We came here excited and smiling. Unfortunately, after seeing the elephants afterwards, we left feeling guilty that we had participated.
For that reason, we can only give one star in its current form. But this is not a review written in anger. We genuinely hope things change. We expect to return to Khao Sok in the future, and I would be very happy to update this review and give five stars if the elephants are eventually provided with substantially more freedom and the experience becomes centred around their natural behaviour and welfare.
These magnificent animals deserve that investment.
At first, it seems like a wonderful experience. We were introduced to three elephants, fed them, walked with them to the water and participated in bathing them. The staff and mahouts were friendly, and importantly, we did not personally see bullhooks being used.
However, as the experience continued, we became increasingly uncomfortable with how controlled and repetitive the interaction felt. During the bathing, one of the elephants was repeatedly prompted to perform the same water-spraying behaviour for tourists and photos. It wasn’t just once or twice, it happened over and over again. Combined with the organised photography and repeated interactions, it started to feel much more like a tourist performance than an opportunity to observe elephants behaving naturally.
What concerned us most happened afterwards.
We specifically asked where the elephants went when they were not participating in activities because we wanted to know whether they had an area where they could move around freely. We were initially told that the elephants were sleeping. I decided to look further into the area myself, and what I saw completely changed my opinion of the experience.
The elephants were individually tethered by their legs with very limited room to move. They appeared to have roughly a metre of movement around where they were secured. They were standing separately rather than freely moving around or socialising. One elephant was repeatedly moving its head backwards and forwards. Seeing this after having just spent time feeding and bathing the same animals was genuinely upsetting.
This is also why I think many visitors may leave a positive review. If you only see the visitor-facing part of the experience, you see elephants being fed and washed alongside friendly staff. We initially enjoyed it too. It was only after seeing what happened outside the tourist activity that our feelings changed completely.
We particularly hope families with children think carefully about this. An elephant encounter can be an incredible opportunity to teach children respect for animals, but that lesson should include allowing elephants space, choice and as much natural behaviour as possible. Feeding or touching an elephant for an hour should not distract us from asking how that elephant spends the other hours of its day.
We understand that caring for captive elephants in Thailand is complicated and expensive, and we are not suggesting that simply releasing these elephants into the wild is realistic. We also don’t want this review to be an attack on the individual mahouts or staff members we met. Our concern is with the system and the conditions in which the elephants are kept between tourist activities.
That is also why we are leaving this review rather than simply saying “never go here”. We genuinely hope the owners use the income generated by tourism to improve the elephants’ living conditions , particularly by investing in large, secure areas where they can move around, forage and interact with other elephants, with significantly less reliance on tethering and staged interactions.
We would happily pay considerably more for an experience where we knew that our money was supporting better welfare and where visitors observed elephants making their own choices rather than performing repeated behaviours for photographs.
We came here excited and smiling. Unfortunately, after seeing the elephants afterwards, we left feeling guilty that we had participated.
For that reason, we can only give one star in its current form. But this is not a review written in anger. We genuinely hope things change. We expect to return to Khao Sok in the future, and I would be very happy to update this review and give five stars if the elephants are eventually provided with substantially more freedom and the experience becomes centred around their natural behaviour and welfare.
These magnificent animals deserve that investment.
翻译：遗憾的是，结束这次与大象的互动后，我们的感受与刚开始时截然不同。
起初，这似乎是一次很棒的体验。我们认识了三头大象，给它们喂食，还和它们一起走到水边并帮着给它们洗澡。工作人员和驯象师都很友善，重要的是，我们并没有亲眼看到有人使用驯象钩。
然而，随着体验的继续……我们越来越觉得这种互动方式过于受控制且重复单调。在洗澡环节，其中一只大象被反复指示做出同样的喷水动作，以迎合游客的需求并方便他们拍照。这种情况不是发生一两次，而是反复出现。再加上有组织的拍照环节以及各种重复互动，这一切给人的感觉更像是一场专为游客准备的表演，而非让游客观察大象自然行为的机会。最让我们担心的情况随后发生了。
我们特意询问了大象们在不参加活动时会去哪里，因为我们想知道它们是否有可以自由活动的空间。起初我们得到的答复是大象们正在睡觉。我决定亲自去该区域查看一番，而我所看到的彻底改变了我对这次体验的看法。
那些大象的腿都被单独拴住，几乎没有任何活动的空间。它们在被固定住的位置附近似乎能活动大约一米的距离。它们只是各自站立着，并没有自由活动或互相互动。其中一头大象还不停地前后晃动头部。就在刚刚我还给这些大象喂食、帮它们洗澡，看到它们这个样子真的让人难过不已。
这也是我认为很多游客可能会给出好评的原因。因为如果你只看到了游客能接触到的那些环节的话……你可以看到大象在友善的工作人员照料下被喂食和清洗。起初我们也很喜欢这样的体验。直到目睹了旅游活动区外发生的情景后，我们的感受才彻底改变。
我们特别希望带孩子的家庭能仔细考虑一下。与大象的互动本可以成为教育孩子尊重动物的绝佳机会，但这种教育应当包括给予大象足够的空间、选择权，以及尽可能多的自然行为表现机会。花一个小时来喂食或抚摸大象，这并不应妨碍我们去思考：那只大象在一天中的其他时间里都在做些什么。
我们明白，在泰国照料圈养的大象是一项复杂且成本高昂的工作，我们也并非认为把这些大象直接放归野外就是切实可行的做法。我们也不希望这篇评述变成对我们所遇到的那些驯象师或工作人员的指责。我们关注的是在旅游活动期间，大象所处的饲养环境与条件。
也正因如此，我们才写下这篇评论，而不是直接宣称“绝对不要去那里”。我们真心希望公园经营者能利用旅游业带来的收入来改善大象的生存条件，尤其是投入资金来打造宽敞且安全的活动区域，让大象能够自由活动、觅食并与其他大象互动，从而大幅减少对拴绳限制以及刻意安排的互动行为的依赖。我们很乐意支付更高的费用，只为了能获得这样一种体验：知道自己的钱确实用于改善大象的福利，也能看到大象们自主做出选择，而不是为了配合拍照而重复某种行为。
我们带着兴奋与笑容来到这里。可惜，在亲眼见到那些大象之后，我们却因自己参与了这样的活动而感到内疚不已。
正因如此，在目前的状态下我们只能给一颗星。不过这篇评论并非出于愤怒而写。我们真心希望情况能有所改善。我们期待将来能再次前往考索国家公园。如果大象们最终能获得更多的自由，而游客体验也能以它们的自然行为与福利为核心，我会非常乐意更新这篇评论并给出五星评价。
这些了不起的动物值得这样的投入。
起初，这似乎是一次很棒的体验。我们认识了三头大象，给它们喂食，还和它们一起走到水边并帮着给它们洗澡。工作人员和驯象师都很友善，重要的是，我们并没有亲眼看到有人使用驯象钩。
然而，随着体验的继续……我们越来越觉得这种互动方式过于受控制且重复单调。在洗澡环节，其中一只大象被反复指示做出同样的喷水动作，以迎合游客的需求并方便他们拍照。这种情况不是发生一两次，而是反复出现。再加上有组织的拍照环节以及各种重复互动，这一切给人的感觉更像是一场专为游客准备的表演，而非让游客观察大象自然行为的机会。最让我们担心的情况随后发生了。
我们特意询问了大象们在不参加活动时会去哪里，因为我们想知道它们是否有可以自由活动的空间。起初我们得到的答复是大象们正在睡觉。我决定亲自去该区域查看一番，而我所看到的彻底改变了我对这次体验的看法。
那些大象的腿都被单独拴住，几乎没有任何活动的空间。它们在被固定住的位置附近似乎能活动大约一米的距离。它们只是各自站立着，并没有自由活动或互相互动。其中一头大象还不停地前后晃动头部。就在刚刚我还给这些大象喂食、帮它们洗澡，看到它们这个样子真的让人难过不已。
这也是我认为很多游客可能会给出好评的原因。因为如果你只看到了游客能接触到的那些环节的话……你可以看到大象在友善的工作人员照料下被喂食和清洗。起初我们也很喜欢这样的体验。直到目睹了旅游活动区外发生的情景后，我们的感受才彻底改变。
我们特别希望带孩子的家庭能仔细考虑一下。与大象的互动本可以成为教育孩子尊重动物的绝佳机会，但这种教育应当包括给予大象足够的空间、选择权，以及尽可能多的自然行为表现机会。花一个小时来喂食或抚摸大象，这并不应妨碍我们去思考：那只大象在一天中的其他时间里都在做些什么。
我们明白，在泰国照料圈养的大象是一项复杂且成本高昂的工作，我们也并非认为把这些大象直接放归野外就是切实可行的做法。我们也不希望这篇评述变成对我们所遇到的那些驯象师或工作人员的指责。我们关注的是在旅游活动期间，大象所处的饲养环境与条件。
也正因如此，我们才写下这篇评论，而不是直接宣称“绝对不要去那里”。我们真心希望公园经营者能利用旅游业带来的收入来改善大象的生存条件，尤其是投入资金来打造宽敞且安全的活动区域，让大象能够自由活动、觅食并与其他大象互动，从而大幅减少对拴绳限制以及刻意安排的互动行为的依赖。我们很乐意支付更高的费用，只为了能获得这样一种体验：知道自己的钱确实用于改善大象的福利，也能看到大象们自主做出选择，而不是为了配合拍照而重复某种行为。
我们带着兴奋与笑容来到这里。可惜，在亲眼见到那些大象之后，我们却因自己参与了这样的活动而感到内疚不已。
正因如此，在目前的状态下我们只能给一颗星。不过这篇评论并非出于愤怒而写。我们真心希望情况能有所改善。我们期待将来能再次前往考索国家公园。如果大象们最终能获得更多的自由，而游客体验也能以它们的自然行为与福利为核心，我会非常乐意更新这篇评论并给出五星评价。
这些了不起的动物值得这样的投入。
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