Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Travel Blogging Calendar 2014: Save The Elephants

Her eyes lit up when she could finally make out the charcoal-gray figure I was pointing at.

She gasped and squealed and ran towards it without looking back. "Dumbooo!"

A few strides away from the elephant, she stopped in her tracks. She seemed terrified. Upon closer look, there was blood splattered on the elephant's face and ear. He was chained to a post, swaying his head left and right, over and over. He stopped for a second and directed his trunk to our daughter for a quick sniff, then fell into a trance again.

Definitely not how Luna imagined Dumbo would look or act like in real life. 

elephant1
Even our two-year-old could tell that there's something wrong here.
 
The "meet and greet a baby elephant" was part of a day tour my sister booked in Phuket, Thailand. We were mainly interested in the ATV adventure ride, but all the excursions offered to us by the travel agent included a visit to an elephant park. So we went, and found that poor calf.

Only a few meters distance from this distressing scene were giggles from tourists riding much older elephants who are whipped and forced to trek on a path through the "jungle". We eventually rode one too, and wished we never did. There's nothing magical about the experience. It made us feel like we supported animal abuse for a day.

Now I'd like to help make things right. How? Remember that Travel Blogging Calendar I posed for last year? Well, the team behind it is back!

More than 20 travel bloggers have banded together to participate in the second annual Travel Blogging Calendar (TBC) project.

This year, the group wants to raise awareness about the plight of the Asian elephants and support the mission of the Save Elephant Foundation in Thailand. TBC is accepting donations on behalf of this incredible organization, and like last year they'll be submitting 100% of the proceeds to their cause.

 About Save Elephant Foundation (taken from their site):

Save Elephant Foundation is a Thai non–profit organization (founded by Sangduen "Lek" Chailert ) dedicated to providing care and assistance to Thailand’s captive elephant population through a multifaceted approach involving local community outreach, rescue and rehabilitation programs, and educational ecotourism operations. Each of our flagship projects is aimed at accomplishing that mission, as well as working towards these goals: 

- to expand self-sustaining eco-tourism operations that benefit local communities and ecosystems
- to better incorporate our efforts into local communities
- to become a leader in the field of Asian elephant research through academic outreach and education programs
- to create practical, positive reinforcement based elephant training and rehabilitation programs
- to establish an international volunteer community that raises awareness to issues facing the Asian elephant
- to more fully integrate with the global conservation community to facilitate dynamic cross-cultural networking

Donate And Win!

Simply visit The Travel Blogging Calendar Website and choose the amount (ranges $20 to $500) you'd like to donate. The funds will be utilized to rebuild the elephants' shelters and to purchase new land so that the park may open once again to the adoption of these beloved giants. When you give donation through this project, you are automatically entered into a raffle to win a $3,300 (USD) holiday to Thailand! Flight Network has donated a $2000 flight voucher and the eco-friendly tour company Where Sidewalks End will take you on a one-week tour in Thailand where you will even be able to visit the Save Elephant Foundation in Chiang Mai!

Winner will be selected in March of 2014.

But wait, there's more... In return for donating, the bloggers involved have come together to build a creative new product, only available to those who donate. Each week, on an exclusive blog, they will be posting tasty new content and photos highlighting different destinations from around the world. They tell you what’s happening in the world that week and they give you lots of great new reading material to check out, too.

Really, this is a win-win thing here. So let's shell out those dibs.
 
YinDee
Photo from http://www.saveelephant.org

Meet Elephant Nature Park's Yin Dee, born on the 24th of August this year. I'm sure he's the kind of Dumbo my daughter has in mind.



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33 comments:

Mustachio said...
December 11, 2013 at 9:33 AM

Poor baby elephant :(

pinaytraveljunkie.com said...
December 11, 2013 at 10:06 AM

Twas a heart-wrenching sight :(

Xy-Za Yape said...
December 12, 2013 at 1:23 PM

Purple for me! Purple for me! yey! Merry Christmas Gay!

Jam Castro said...
December 12, 2013 at 1:58 PM

I so love pastel colors! So any of them will do! Thank you! :)

Lisa Marie | Pinay Travelista said...
December 12, 2013 at 2:22 PM

Oh!!! I would love to have one in Turquoise or Orange! <3

Happy holidays to you Gay!

leizledemaisip said...
December 12, 2013 at 5:54 PM

the pink one! It's my favorite color of course :)

Mau said...
December 12, 2013 at 6:49 PM

Dark Blue. My favorite color.

El John EngaƱo said...
December 13, 2013 at 8:34 AM

I want to have color blue Bensimon sneakers 'coz blue is my favorite color. :)

jam carabeo said...
December 13, 2013 at 3:08 PM

The color gray is subdued, quiet and reserved. so i choose gray!

Abigail said...
December 13, 2013 at 3:37 PM

Yellow is cool!

Mirzi Sarte said...
December 14, 2013 at 8:16 AM

I love the red sneakers because i can match any outfit for it. a Perfect for holiday season :D Red is a lucky color too :D

Janet said...
December 14, 2013 at 11:14 AM

i actually need some shoes for travel. just have flipflops. hehehehe

Karen Dayle ♥ said...
December 14, 2013 at 1:26 PM

i want the color yellow like yours. :) it will be a very trendy shoe this coming chirstmas :D

June Rumbaoa Real said...
December 14, 2013 at 10:09 PM

I like red. This goes well with my pants :)

hartlesschiq said...
December 14, 2013 at 10:11 PM

I want the red one, perfect for Christmas! :)

Tek de Guzman said...
December 15, 2013 at 12:24 AM

Just the yellow one. I like bright and the quality of your shoes! <3

Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com said...
December 15, 2013 at 8:44 AM

I want a red one Gay!

jagger_augustine said...
December 15, 2013 at 9:56 AM

I chose lift blue because I have no blue shoes yet!!!

Mervin Lising said...
December 15, 2013 at 10:58 AM

I want the color grey or red because it suites in all clothes you wear ^_^

rica said...
December 15, 2013 at 2:02 PM

i want red

Manila Shopaholic said...
December 16, 2013 at 9:16 AM

Excited to win this!! :D

Dianne said...
December 16, 2013 at 10:52 AM

Aaaahhh hard to choose which color. I think I'll choose the yellow one. It'll stand out in the crowd when worn and would love to win those so I can wear it on my Thailand adventure with my bestfriend next year muehehe

May Ochea said...
December 16, 2013 at 1:10 PM

I want the green color! Looks so stunning to wear that sneakers. :)

melodyco said...
December 16, 2013 at 3:36 PM

i want the stars version!! it reminds me that my world is as vast as the universe so just keep walking =)

Astra said...
December 16, 2013 at 4:02 PM

Red for me please!

Mary Louise Sanchez said...
December 16, 2013 at 4:08 PM

I want the color Light gray for my Bensimon pair! Very versatile one and will surely fit my Outgoing Attire!

Yna Bronozo said...
December 16, 2013 at 5:20 PM

I want yellow or red because its my favorite colors and I feel happy when I'm seeing color yellow and red hahaha

Elle C. said...
December 16, 2013 at 9:29 PM

redddd! coz its my fave color :D

Stella S., Cebu Beaches said...
December 17, 2013 at 3:55 PM

"Even our two-year-old could tell that there's something wrong here."


Indeed. It's sad to think how adults fail to realise what children easily perceive. Thank you for sharing this article. I'm all up for tourism, but not at the expense of animals. I can't imagine why they have to put that baby elephant in chains. For the life of me, I just can't.

Brenna Bustamante said...
December 19, 2013 at 10:42 AM

reeeed!!! dahil pumuputi ako sa red. :) char. hahaha

Joy Rebleza said...
December 19, 2013 at 10:54 AM

orange, I want to try different colors, I'm done with the usual white and black I want something new this 2014 ^^

Aegeane Mikka Brioso said...
December 19, 2013 at 3:31 PM

I want the color red. I feel that red is the gorgeous and most elegant color ever. :)

Marysia @ My Travel Affairs said...
December 31, 2013 at 8:06 AM

I love this little cutie! It is worth fighting this cause for those little creatures, born free from abuse!

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