Helping the elephants – Writer’s Bloc

Photo: Contributed

Holly Wankin is pictured with an elephant. The Kelowna resident has volunteered at numerous elephant sanctuaries.

Holly Wanlin thinks about elephants often, especially on World Elephant Day, Aug. 12.

Wanlin, owner of Shawanda Rocks Crystals and Gems Wellness Centre in Kelowna, volunteered for two weeks at an elephant sanctuary at Surin, a small Thai village near the Cambodian border. She also volunteered at elephant sanctuaries in Northern Thailand, and in India.

—

By Holly Wanlin

There was an attempt to pull elephants out of tourism, so the mahouts (elephant rider, trainer, or keeper) were built a house, the elephants a structure. The queen of Thailand had outlawed logging to gain incentives for the mahouts to bring their elephants here where the tourists would pay them to help with their…