A new life for an old lady – Jaidee’s fresh start

Jaidee was born around 1947. Her name means ‘Good heart’. She arrived to ENP in late January 2015, rescued from trekking. She originally came from the Surin province.

Jaidee in transit to her new life at ENP.

When old enough she began her career in logging – both legal and illegal – working in the far south of Thailand. When logging was banned in 1989, she became a trekking elephant. She worked all over Thailand, from the beaches in the south to the jungles of the north and in between.
As she got older, she became weaker and had no strength to carry the tourists up hills. She then spent most of her time trekking where the terrain was flat, which meant beaches or open plains with little or no shade.
Sometimes she was rented out for weddings. Being used as an auspicious accessory for a wedding is not a fun affair for an elephant. Usually they are bedecked in headdresses and tapestry and expected to stand in one place, quite often in the hot sun for hours on end. They are often withheld food and water to avoid urination or defecation which would be considered by the attendants as an unsightly inconvenience.

Her last job was giving rides at a resort in the south which had an elephant camp. The days were hot and grueling. Jaidee was getting slower and slower. Thankfully, because of the new Animal Protection Laws that just came into effect in mid December 2014, this resort decided to shut down their camp and sell off their elephants. Jaidee was considered a favorite of the owner so they wished for her to be retired to the ENP as opposed to being sold to an owner who would continue to work her. The timing could not have been any better – she was more than ready for her working days to be over!
Jaidee made it through all her years of service without any broken bones or dislocations and still has sight in both of her eyes. She is thin but moves pretty fast for an old lady.

Jaidee enjoys a basket of pumpkin, watermelon and bananas.

Since her arrival, Jaidee has yet to bond with any other elephants and is spending most of her time alone. She enjoys fleeting moments with the youngest members of the Faa Mai famliy group, her favorite being Faa Sai. Though we cannot arrange friendships, we are hoping an alliance may form between Jaidee and felow newcomer Sook Sai. She has begun Positive Reinforcement training sessions and is just starting to get the hang of it.

Trunk draping with Faa Mai.

Mingling with Dok Ngern and the rest of the Faa Mai family.

A big thanks goes to Adam Flynn, who donated the funds needed for Jaidee’s rescue in honour of his mother Katherine Flynn. Jaidee is already benefiting from her much deserved retirement.