ENP Elephants

Lucky: an elephant rescue in Thailand

On 31 January, our team set off for a whirlwind trip to Surin with one goal: to rescue Lucky, a circus elephant who, after 30 years in the circus, was rendered blind from the spotlights and in need of a place to live the rest of her life without performing for people.

Around 6 p.m. on Thursday, staff and four volunteers loaded into a Save Elephant Foundation van and headed down south to Surin. We drove through the night and early morning, stopping briefly at the Cambodia border to leave some of our staff who were heading to Elephant Sanctuary Cambodia. Then, we continued on towards Surin.

Lucky

We find Lucky behind the house, awaiting her transit to her new home and freedom.

After nearly 20 hours of driving, we arrived to Lucky’s home. We found her behind the house, on a chain, awaiting our arrival. The previous day, another SEF team (including one of our vets), headed down to examine her and prepare her for her journey home to Elephant Nature Park.

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Lucky

  Lucky was born in 1985. She was rescued in 2013 from the Surin province. She was the star attraction of the LUCKY CIRCUS since she was 4 years old. In her late teens, she developed an eye infection and was still…

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Top 10 Cute Animal Pics From Save Elephant Foundation

Recently, we’ve been overwhelmed with how frequently the word “awww” is heard in the office. Being around so many animals, not a day goes by without us witnessing something cute! Although we don’t always have access to a camera, here are our top shots of capturing cute at Save Elephant Foundation (in no particular order). As you’ll notice, Navann owns quite the monopoly at the moment!

If you want an even better look at these adorable snaps, click on the photos.

1. Starting off the nominees … baby Navann!

Navann kneeling in the sunWe may be biased, but we think he’s the cutest elephant in the world!

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Malai Tong Makes Shy Kham Sai Smile!

Malai Tong and Kham Sai at Elephant Nature Park

Kham Sai enjoys random moments of companionship.

The elusive Mae Kham Sai … many a visitor pass through Elephant Nature Park never seeing or hearing about her. Kham Sai is one of the little known and seldom seen herd members. She doesn’t feel comfortable at the platform or in any of the other areas where many of the elephants tend to congregate. She has been with us for nine years, but has never really bonded with any of the other elephants. In addition, she is shy and unpredictable with people.

Before arriving to ENP, Kham Sai had numerous bad experiences with both people and elephants, causing her to lose her trust in both species. Kham Sai is content to stay on the sidelines and not interact. We respect how she feels and do not want to force her to join in activities that may cause her stress.

There is ONE special adult elephant in the park whom Kham Sai feels comfortable with. It may come as no surprise that this elephant is none other than marvelous Malai Tong. Unfortunately, Malai Tong has already dedicated herself to Jarunee, who is blind and also a bit nervous around other elephants, so the chances of the duo becoming a trio are quite slim.

But, Malai Tong being the intuitive gal that she is, recognises those in need of some company. As of late, there have been a few occasions where Malai Tong has left Jarunee to spend some time with shy Kham Sai. To bear witness to these precious moments is nothing short of priceless as Kham Sai comes alive with pleasure. You can actually see the smile on her face as she touches and caresses Malai Tong who responds in the same fashion. If they happen to be near a mud hole they will share a mud bath and Kham Sai fully relaxed, happily slinging mud to her heart’s content!

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Mae Tee Finds Friendship in a Former Foe??

Hope and Mae Tee Since losing her best friend and constant companion, Mae Tee has spent the majority of time on her own, which is something that she is not used to. For the first week after Mae Kham Geao’s passing, Mae Tee seemed to be in a deep depression and we feared that she might just give up. But as time passed, she appeared to put her sorrow aside and accept her circumstances, deciding that she still had the will to keep going.

Most recently, Mae Tee has taken us all by surprise and seemed to align herself with a very unlikely cohort —our 12 1/2 year old bull HOPE!!!! In the past, Mae Kham Geao and Mae Tee were nothing short of terrified when Hope passed by, his spirit and energy a bit too much for them. Whenever Hope’s silhouette graced the horizon, getting larger with each onward stride, Mae Tee would often tremble in fear, unsure if she had the mobility to move out of his way in time.

At first this possibly ‘dangerous’ liaison seemed to be just a coincidence. Mae Tee and Mae Kham Geao used to spend part of their mornings near to Hope’s shelter and so it seemed that Mae Tee was just in the habit of going to this area. Soon though, despite it obviously being Hope’s territory, Mae Tee was often seen under his shelter scratching on the posts. Of course Hope was not actually present during this time and upon his eminent arrival, Mae Tee shuffled out of the area as quickly as she could. What we noticed is that she did not choose to move completely away and sometimes stayed where it would be possible for him to reach her.

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Persistence Pays Off for Mae Kham Paan – Navann’s New Nanny

Mae Kham Paan as auntie for baby Navann at Elephant Nature ParkAfter weeks of patiently standing outside of Navann’s nursery, the door was finally opened allowing Mae Kham Paan entry, last Friday at around five in the afternoon. Mae Kham Paan (and Navann as well!) had been waiting for this moment for some time. They were so happy to finally be in the same space together, free to touch and caress at will. Within a few minutes Navann was suckling at Mae Kham Paan’s breast in hopes that there would be milk- but alas, there was only comfort. Mae Sri Prae was mildly cautious at first, but it was obvious that she welcomed the addition. The ladies shared grass, companionably sheltering Navann between them. The little bull used his trunk to sniff and touch his new auntie everywhere within reach. He immediately seemed to calm down. Mae Kham Paan had a look of total contentment and self satisfaction. She seemed to be thinking ‘It is about time I was let in here!’

There could not be a better candidate for an auntie/grandma than Mae Kham Paan; she is calm, reserved, older, experienced, non-threatening. Quite often new mothers can be stressed out by younger, over-dramatic females who are a bit baby-crazy. These girls mean well, but their overprotectiveness can sometimes cause more harm than good. Therefore, seasoned old matrons are a welcome relief for new mothers.

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Dao Tong

  Meaning 'Golden Star' in Thai, Dao Tong was born around 1975. She was rescued from street begging in the Surin Province and arrived at ENP in November 2012. Before street begging she worked in illegal logging. While logging she…

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