The Nature Center at Jungwat Trang

One of the most
Fascinating spots
I ever visited
In all of Thailand
Was the Nature Center
In Jungwat Trang.
It was a wildlife sanctuary
Run by a couple
German volunteers.
Apparently Germany
Had its own equivalent
Of a Peace Corps Volunteer,
And there were two of them
Posted to the Center.
They kept all sorts
Of jungle animals
Housed there.
Two of my favorites
Were a set of
Rambunctiously playful
And extremely tame otters
Which were allowed
To come indoors to frolic.
There were an assortment
Of deer and antelope,
And even a baby elephant.
During my first visit,
I got to swim in the river
With the elephant,
But unfortunately,
The elephant was later
Determined to be
An extremely rare
Three-toed Royal Elephant,
Thus belonged to the King
And Thai army soldiers
Was sent in supposedly
To protect the elephant.
The surrounding forest
Was inhabited by all sorts
Of wild creatures
That added to the ambience
Of the place.
One of the most
Playfully mischievous
Of the them was
A troop of gibbons
Who love to sneak
Into the house
To see what
Interesting toys
They could steal.
They would do stuff
Like prying open
My eyelids
When I was asleep,
And grabbing my underwear
And hanging them
High up in the trees outside
Like a flag.
There were also lizards
With their specially adapted
Skin flaps that allowed
Them to fly tree to tree
Like giant grasshoppers.
They were plenty of other
Unusual critters
Among the jungle inhabitants,
Like giant worms and slugs
That glowed in the dark.
Once the Army moved in
None of the other animals
Were safe, especially if
They were caged.
I suppose you can’t blame
The soldiers,
For most of them were
Uneducated peasants
Who made for very poorly
Disciplined guards.
They looked at any animal
As something to eat,
And the caged animals
Were simply dinner for them.
As you can imagine,
The Center lost
Most of its animals
And even the gibbons
Quit raiding the camp
For fear of becoming dinner too.
My hope is that
Some wildlife conservation
Minded people
Will someday
Restore the Center
To its former glory.
I have never gone back
To find out.