“It was called Operation Jumbo and highlighted the drama of us rescuing the last elephants, how we got them and the logistics of bringing them down,” said Nigel, who is very proud of the sanctuary he and Yanie have created. “Our elephants have a beautiful life and the connection with the mahouts is amazing. We don’t use any forceful methods with our training. It is all very gentle and about repetitiveness. It takes longer but the results are worth it as we have calm and friendly elephants that are living a happy life.”
“We have been under criticism, along with a lot of other places, saying it’s cruel to ride an elephant. But it isn’t cruel. What they are talking about is the training methods but we do not use those. We get elephants that are highly traumatised and need to bring them back to being healthy and happy by using gentle repetition. I saw the way they were being treated and said there has to be another way. I believed there was another way to train them and it worked; it took longer but the results are far better,” said Nigel.
Nigel says there has been a change of attitude to animals in recent years as people are getting sensitive about animals in captivity.
For this dynamic duo, creating new business adventures never stops with the recent opening of All Terrain Vehicles and a chocolate factory.
E ssence
22 | PENINSULA
July 2018