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Visiting Elephant Safari Park, Ubud, Bali



My friends and I made it to come to Elephant Safari Park in Ubud. I was smiling when we reached the Park, because there was a big sign says ELEPHANT AREA, BE AWARE!

Not too long, I already sat comfortably on Fitri’s back, the Sumatran Elephant who will take me around the park. Little did I know that Fitri was terribly hungry that time. While we were cruising, suddenly she was off the track and pulled out some small trees around her with her trunk! Oh me God, it was a disaster for me!! My body was tossed left and right and I was really scared to death!

Good thing Fitri’s tamer knew her really well and was able to calm her. We stopped for few minutes to give her time enjoying her food. The rest of the journey was really fun! At the end of the journey, we went in to the small pool where the elephants normally pooped! I'm not joking! Look at the color of the water!! Hahaha!
Afterwards, we fed the elephants and had the opportunity to play with them! They are such a smart animals!

At the Elephant Safari Park, we visited the little museum/gift shop there, the guy who was part owner, I think his name was Bill told us his story. At first we were looking at these different tusks that were carved and I think even some for sale, so I was confused because I know that there is an international ban on trade in ivory from elephant tusks, so when we asked the guy he said that all the tusks came from elephants not only dead (duh), but extinct for many, many years.

He told me that he goes up to Alaska, usually by himself, and explores in the creeks and small rivers that come out of the glaciers and there he finds the tusks. These tusks came from Mammoths, ancestors of modern elephants that used to live in that area tens of thousands of years ago. I don't how long Mammoths have been extinct but it was during the time of cave men 'cause they used to hunt them. Anyway, long ago the Mammoths in that area died and their skeletons either got buried in the snow and ice or in the ground, or over time as ice has melted or soil eroded the tusks have reappeared in the creeks and small rivers.

Since that species is extinct, there is no ban on the ivory, not trading in the ivory is not going to save these animals, 'cause they're all freaking DEAD already, ya!

Anyway, it was pretty cool that he would go get these tusks, places where there are no roads, no villages, he has to take an airplane that can land on lakes then brings along a canoe and tries to collect these tusks, which then are really big and not so easy to even get back to the developed world! There's danger of grizzly bears up there not to mention he has to bring with him everything he needs, no stores, nothin' there. He has to be ready when the plane comes back to get him. It's cool to know that the ancient tusks he found in the northern part of North America are now in Bali, a tropical zone, over 10,000 miles away!

19 comments:

menjadimanusia said...

Maen gajah lucu bener... tapi terus terang gw takut lho ama gajah... dalam khayalan gw, gw bakal diangkat, dipenyet ama dia... hehehehe... padahal gajah kan gak buas ya...

Anonymous said...

i was finally able to ride an elephant early this year in thailand too. we don't have elephants in our zoo or anywhere else in cebu.. i was soooooooooo happy.. it was one of my wishlist and i was happily able to put a check mark on it.. weeee

Anonymous said...

wah ..asik ya bisa berkunjung ke seantero nusantara ...., mantap banget dah ...

Daniel said...

I did not realize there was this Park when I went to Ubud - Bummer! :( Next time I will make sure we go there :)

escape said...

never been that close with an elephant yet. looks cool!

Ivana said...

gajahnya keliatan takut sama kalian tuh,hehehe...*kabuuur*

原味.风铃 said...

wa~ so good~
go to visit elephant~
can see them so close n touch them~

Anonymous said...

i've been there before....nice plaaaaace....ooooh i miss BALI SO MUUUCH...huhuhuhuhu

mencobahidup said...

Setelah sampai di tempat tujuan aku tersenyum melihat suatu pengumuman....ha ha....ha...Yang pertama saya lihat tuh yah senum lebarnya itu eye catching bangets. Gak bisa bohong deh kalau bahagia bangets

Rintjez said...

# daysandminds:
Iihh..kok days taku sama gajah sih?? gajah kan vegetarian..mereka ga doyan makan daging manusia..haha!

# Carlota:
haha, yeah there are a lot in Thailand :) Hahaha it's so funny that ride an elephant was in your wishlist

# Anonymous:
Iyaa..gw lucky banget bisa jalan2..tapi sulawesi sama papua belom! Taun depan deh :)

# Daniel:
It's worth visiting! You should go!

# the donG:
really??? you should try! It's FUN to be up close and personal with them!

# Ivana:
hahaha...gw kejeeerrr loooo!!!!

# 原味.风铃 :
Yes my dear, it was ssssooo nice!!! You should go there and experience it by yourself :D

# Natalia:
Iyaa sayy..keren bangets yaa!!! Iya nih, jadi kangen Bali lagi..
hiks! Ayoo kapan kita liburan bareng kesana? Hihihii...

# mencobahidup:
Hihihih..gimana ga sumringah dan bahagia kalo bisa maen deket2 sama gajah..mereka adorable animalssss...cinta deh sama gajah :D

Anonymous said...

gajahnya so cute ....

Enno said...

kalo kesana lagi salam buat fitri yeee :)

btw ada yg nyariin tuh, si jeng popi... no hpmu ilang katanyah :D

Haris said...

Ini lagi main di Ubud ya?
Dulu gak ada gajahnya, wah sekarang dah ada gajah ya

awi said...

big elephant
aku belum pernah naik gajah, kasian ya, kapan2 kalo ke sana nyobain ah, thanks utk gambar2 nya

Anonymous said...

I don't want to try riding an elephant but I had a massage by an elephant when I was in Bangkok ;)

Anonymous said...

Pantess,... kemaren yang punya blog gw cari tapi nggak ketemu, eh lagi main sama gajah toh. Hehe :D.

BTW, Kayaknya adegan naik gajahnya seru ya say...

Rintjez said...

# jelajahiduniaely:
yaa...kirain gw yang cute! wakakaka

# enno:
hihihi..nanti disampein deh salam kenalnya ke Fitri..hihihihi
Saya sudah menemukan Popi, ternyata dia jatuh sakit!

# erik:
iyee..lagi maen2 di Ubud. Naah, berarti ada alasan buat ke Ubud lagi kan..biar bisa maen2 sama gajah! hihihi..

# awi:
kudu dicoba lho say...fun banget!!

# Ar-wee-der-yet:
why don't you wanna ride an elephant?? Jeezz...not only the people who knows Thai massage! Elephant too!!!

# felicity:
iya say..maen2 ama gajah seru! Naek gajah juga seru walopun rada keder waktu dia rada "nganuk"..hahahah

Rahmi Aulina said...

hai, salam kenal, nice story! hehe.. btw, boleh tau ga catatan perjalanannya ke elephant safari park ini? dari mulai kendaraannya, budget, dll.. mohon info yaa... hehe ada rencana kesana soalnya.. big thanks :)

Angkasa Bali said...

salam kenal mantap nih kebunnya mau nyoba ke sana juga ya hehehe, thanks for info