Deer Park and Elephant Park

Sorry it has been a while since we posted.  On 17 September we visited a deer park and an elephant park with some of our new friends.  A group of people from Luther House Chapel (Zach's church) took us out to see the deer park and the elephant park.  The deer park was actually a small zoo-like area.  The deer were in two different areas.  One was fenced off quite a ways away from where people were.  The other was an area where some of the deer had been selected to be petted/fed by visitors.  The food that was available to purchase to feed the deer was a sliced potato, much like a french fry (but not deep fried). Next to the deer cage was also a cage for an ostrich, who also enjoyed these potato pieces, but was not as adept at missing fingers as the deer were.  There were also many other creatures on exhibit at the deer park.  There were guinea pigs, snakes, chickens, cats (interestingly looked like house cats...), peacocks, mouse deer (called a chevrotain), hedgehogs, and many different types of tropical birds.  I am sure I missed some of the animals, but the point is that there were many varieties of animals that were wonderful to see.

The elephant park was another interesting experience.  This place actually is an elephant refuge.  When there is an elephant that is separated from its parents when forest clearing happens, or when there is an elephant that is causing disturbances in an area, or when there is an elephant that is injured in a life threatening way, they are brought to this park to live.  We were able to take a guided tour to meet three elephants.  All three were very young elephants, around 8 or 9 years old.  One had been mauled by a tiger and had lost its tail in the fight and had over 30 puncture marks in its back.  Another elephant lost its foot to a trap.  The last elephant that we met had broken its leg and it had healed badly.  These elephants had been trained to be friendly to strangers, even allowing food to be put onto their tongues.  The park also had younger elephants in some holding areas that could be fed by visitors.  The food that was available to feed the elephants were peanuts and small bananas.  Also available for visitors was the opportunity to ride on an elephant and to actually swim in the river with the elephants.  We were not able to do these activities, but it was definitely worth the trip anyway.  We posted some pictures to our picture hosting website here. Our other pictures are also on that website and another link is found on the right sidebar under "Photos Here."

We are loving our time here so far and we are hopeful for what the future holds for us here in Malaysia. I hope this finds you all well.  God Bless!

-Zach