The Asian Elephant.

This is Jungle Boy. I bumped into him while walking from my hut. We met at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand where I spent some time volunteering. I loved this place. It is an undeveloped 50 acre area in the Mae Taeng Valley, about 2 hours north of Chiang Mai. Lek, its founder, was recognized as Times' Asian Hero of the Year.

Asian elephants are smaller than their African relatives and are largely domesticated. Their numbers have dwindled from 100,000 a century ago to about 2,500 - 5,000 today. The elephants at the sanctuary were mostly rescued from abusive owners. (One elephant that sadly passed away a week after I left the sanctuary was run over by a speeding truck in Bangkok)

As a volunteer, I got to feed and bathe them in the river. Other chores included cutting stalks from corn fields, preparing meals, and - of course - shoveling elephant poop. To learn more, visit elephantnaturefoundation.org.