Welcome to Jennie of the Jungle!

Photo by Jennifer Ilene November 2015 was my first-ever trip with my new business Jennie of the Jungle , and I chose to take clients to volunteer at Lek Chalert's Elephant Nature Park in Thailand. The Elephant Nature Park is among a few of the only legit conservation organizations/sanctuaries in the country. Many organizations claim to rescue elephants, but in reality they deny them true freedom and natural behavior, the ability to socialize and form family groups, and continue to exploit them and their negatively trained behaviors for profit. As a general rule, if you can ride an elephant, it is still being abused. Lek and one of her beloved elephants Elephants have to have their spirits broken in order to learn behaviors that are unnatural to them, such as riding people around, doing tricks, and yes - even painting. Breaking an elephant's spirit takes years and years of abuse - which, in Thailand and many surrounding countries, involves beating, burning, skinni...

Photo by Jennifer Ilene In November of 2015 I made my first trip as Jennie of the Jungle, taking wildlife-loving clients to work with elephants at an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai. And the experience was simply amazing. I learned a lot about a new country and what it takes to be responsible for the experiences of others, and learned that confidence is the key to getting what you want out of life... I arrived in Bangkok after dark, got a cab from the airport and thought I was headed to the studio I had rented to spend some time preparing for one of my clients who would arrive three days later. Little did I know, this cab driver (and most of the other ones, too) did not have any idea where he was going. He turned around and asked me the address multiple times (which I had given him in writing and in Thai, no less!). He ended up coming to a complete stop on the freeway and backing up until he reached the on-ramp he didn't mean to enter. As semi-trucks came straight for u...

On January 24th, 2015 I launched www.jennieofthejungle.com. This new website is my way of saving the planet, one volunteer at a time. Check it out... I am excited to have the opportunity to do my part in conservation, and help you do yours too. Just an example of what kinds of projects I will be offering are: -stay in a tribal elephant town in Thailand. This project involves staying with a tribe in a town where elephants roam freely. Volunteers will experience tribal ceremonies, interacting with elephants who roam freely through the town and have relationships with the tribe, and tribal outreach and education on the importance of elephant conservation in Thailand. -work with rescued sloth bears in India. The advent of "dancing bears" has been nearly eliminated in India. Spend time at a sanctuary for these rescued sloth bears. Volunteers feed the bears, keep them happy with daily enrichment activities, and learn all about sloth bear habits by observing them on a daily...