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severe that many baby elephants die during this ritual. The phajaan may have superstitious origins in ancient Thailand, but its practice today is all too real and lucrative. The elephants that survive phajaan, are used in the tourist and illegal logging trades. Elephants give tourists rides, paint pictures, beg on the hot streets, and are forced to drag heavy logs—none of which are natural behaviors, and many of which deform or break the elephants' spines. Most of the logging elephants are addicted to amphetamines, which are used to keep them awake and working for days on end without breaks for food, water or rest. Elephants are one of the most intelligent and social animals on earth, yet they are often kept isolated from other elephants, confined on tight chains - barely able to move a step in any direction, they are stabbed repeatedly in the head with a hook or in the back with a long nail, and they live in filthy environments strewn with garbage, standing in their own waste. Lek has said that when she sees these elephants they are like "zombies" and have what she terms as "dead eyes" devoid of any hope. Elephants can live to be 80 years old and many will spend their entire lives in such conditions.This treatment can often be attributed to their mahout or elephant handler. These men come from the poorest of communities and derive their income from the tourist trade and the popularity of elephants. It is a tragic cycle of poverty and abuse in which the elephants suffer greatly —sometimes for 60+ years. Swaying back and forth on their tight chains and slowly going insane. Thankfully, though, Lek Chailert has dedicated her life to rescuing, protecting, and preserving these elephants in her native Thailand. Sangduen "Lek" Chailert's family was gifted with a baby elephant named Tongkum, or the Golden One, when Lek was a child. Her affection for Tongkum grew into a deep concern and compassion for elephants and she learned more and more about their lives both in the wild and in captivity in her native country. In 1990 Lek created Elephant Nature Park, and has since rescued more than 200 elephants, 30 of which still reside in the park, many blind or crippled. Finally they find peace and safety in the park's 250 acres in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Elephants aren't required to serve or carry or perform for humans there; rather, they gather together around the little ones, walk in the grass, and roll in mud and water. Not only does she rescue elephants but Lek is a strong believer in cultural preservation. She provides a salary to the mahouts, free housing for their families and schooling for their children in exchange for keeping their elephants at the park and free from chains and abuse. Park managers are recruited locally to oversee the park's progress. Valuable trade often happens within the community—another way to support the elephants without exploiting them. Lek trades elephant dung to farmers to use in partial exchange for fresh fruit and vegetables to feed her elephants and volunteers. Farmers avoid driving many miles to the market to sell their wares and they are provided with nutrients for their soil as well as income for their produce. By creating employment and purchasing agricultural products locally Lek and her