7 ethical animal experiences in China and Southeast Asia where you can feed pandas, walk with elephants and swim with dugongs

One of the best things about travelling is getting to know the locals, including all the cute and cuddly creatures you meet along the way. But before planning the ultimate wildlife encounter, it’s important to know how to do so responsibly.

Many animal tourism experiences in Asia inadvertently contribute to animal cruelty, such as elephant rides, tiger selfies and touching marine life, which can destroy underwater ecosystems.

However, getting close to wildlife does not always have to come at the expense of animals. For those who want to make sure their animal encounters are safe for both parties, read on for seven of Asia’s best ethical animal experiences:

Diving with dugongs in Coron, Philippines

With its plump body, short flippers and goofy grin, the dugong is an adorable but endangered species that can still be found in the warm coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

In North Busuanga, Palawan in the Philippines, the Dugong Dive Center offers a full day of “dugong watching”, which begins with a 20-minute briefing on dugongs and how to safely approach them, followed by a trip to several of their feeding grounds in the bay. With an 80 per cent success rate, the guides will tell you when it’s safe to jump in and swim along with the friendly and short-sighted sea creature.

Walking with elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Elephants have a long history of being exploited for tourism, but at Elephant Nature Park, a rescue and rehabilitation centre 60km outside Chiang Mai, founder Lek Chailert has created the world’s premier elephant sanctuary for distressed elephants from all over Thailand.

Visitors and volunteers can meet the herd, feed the elephants or even go on jungle walks with them. As of April 2018, elephant bathing is no longer allowed to give the elephants as natural a life as possible. Instead, guests can watch them splash around at a safe distance from the new observation platform.

Meeting orangutans in Borneo, Malaysia