Thailand Baby Elephant Attack

Some days you wake up and just don’t know what to expect. After a fun day of riding with Sarah on the Samoeng Loop around Chiang Mai, Thailand we decided to stop off in the diminishing light and enjoy a coffee at one of the many premium coffee shops that are opening up in the area. While sipping our lattes we spied a group of handlers tending a herd of elephants on the other side of the road. Naturally, curiosity got the best of us and we went to check it out.

The Thailand Baby Elephant Kept Wanting to Play

There were about twenty elephants and five tenders looking after them. Among the herd, there were several babies including one only two months old. I was a little hesitant to get close but the baby soon made it clear he was as curious about us as we were of him. His mother seemed totally at ease with us being there so I decided to reach out and scratch him between the ears. The scant hair on his head was coarse, almost like brush bristles and his skin was dry and smooth and we seemed to maybe be forming a bond.

I Tried Ignoring the Baby Elephant, but That Didn’t Go Too Well

The Baby Elephant Kept Wanting to Play, Luckily Mom Was Patient

That was when he charged! It obviously wasn’t meant to do harm, more like a puppy frolicking, but this little fellow outweighed me by at least several hundred pounds. I scrambled out of his way but it was obvious he wanted some attention. He came back, stood beside me and then decided he wanted to play push the human. As hard as I tried to stand my ground this little guy was just too strong. This was clearly great fun for him. Soon he decided to charge again but my best matador moves seemed to be working now. This went on for several more minutes and until we decided to leave. I thought if I turned my back he might think I was no longer interested and go back to his baby elephant business.

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Wrong! He came up behind and tried to crawl between my legs. Obviously, that wasn’t going to work but it made for a bit of comic relief. After a bit more romping around and some more push the human game finally he did tire, or more likely got bored, and went back to his mother.

The Baby Thai Elephant Really Was Playing Like a Huge Puppy

It is fun waking up every day and finding new and unexpected adventures but some days are definitely more unexpected than others.

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