Elephant Nature Park’s Big Girl, Good Girl, Friendly Girl – Sao Yai
What did Elephant Nature Park ever do without Sao Yai?
She has only just passed her one-and-a-half year mark of living with us and it is hard to imagine what life was like before the arrival of Sao Yai and her mahout, Mong Dee. We only have a few elephants here who can get along with almost everyone and this “big girl” is one of them!
The Diary of an Elephant Rescue
It’s 16 January, 2013, and we begin our journey with two rescued elephants from the logging industry. The sun hasn’t even begun to light the sky, and our Save Elephant Foundation team is awake and ready to bring these two girls back to the forest, where they belong.
The journey isn’t easy.
Even when the first oranges and pinks light the sky, the temperatures are still cold and our mahouts are draped in blankets a top the massive trucks as the wind from the road chills them. We progress to the Mekong River, where our two trucks and team are greeted by locals and travelers, all stopping to take photos and learn more about what we are doing.
“We have rescued them,” we explain. “Today, they will learn what is feels like to be free.”
A message from Lek: The Elephant Sanctuary Cambodia at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary
We're on the road rescuing two elephants. During this time, our founder takes a moment to address the rescue and the Elephant Sanctuary Cambodia. Dear Friends and Supporters: I am on the trip to rescue elephants in Cambodia and bring…
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!
We may be biased, but we think he’s the cutest elephant in the world!
Malai Tong Makes Shy Kham Sai Smile!
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!
The BEST Christmas Gifts
There is never a dull moment at Elephant Nature Park, and Christmas Day was no exception!
On their way back from the river, Faa Mai and Chang Yim’s family group was given a Christmas present in the form of a big multi colored blow up beach ball, thanks to Hinesh from the UK. To us humans it seemed a thing that might be fun to kick around, but to the elephants it appeared to be a UFO and had an air of danger to it. The herd approached cautiously, then shied away. When it was thrown or kicked in their direction in an attempt to encourage play, the whole group swirled and trunk thumped, vocalizing their disdain for the alien intruder.
At first, they tried to pretend that the ball was not there. Finally Tong Jaan in valiant act of bravery, took matters into her own trunk, strode forward purposefully to where the orb was and in a rather swift movement pulled the ball to her and deflated it with her front foot. Mission accomplished!!! The family was saved from the invasion!!! Satisfied, off they went to bed.
Merry Christmas from all at ENP / Save Elephant Foundation!!!!
Deck the hills with banana balls, bundles of cornstalks and trumpets of joy! It’s Christmas day and all is well at Elephant Nature Park. Here are a few highlights from this morning’s action with the herd:
Tong Suk (Jungle Boy) is bringing in the holiday season with a bout of moda musth and sporting slight temporin for the past few days. But never fear, his condition has not yet affected his temper. He is still on the ‘nice list’ cooperating well with his mahout, politely backing up to have his food delivered, even laying down when asked so that his collar could be removed. Thanks to the ever friendly Sao Yai, Tong Suk is rarely lonely and enjoys her company greatly.
Sao Yai is the perfect pal to have around, fitting into the ‘friend with benefits’ category. Mintra has been visiting Tong Suk more often lately and, as they had a mutual crush for a while after Mintra arrived, ‘JB’ is always happy to have her companionship.
Fatty Faa Mai is often quite flirty with our handsome tusker, lingering in his area, before and after the rest of her family has arrived or passed through. She is much too young to be so flirtatious, but it seems that she cannot resist. Besides the flirting, Faa Mai is definitely ‘nice list’ material.
Mae Tee Finds Friendship in a Former Foe??
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.
Save Elephant Foundation Welcomes Dao Tong!
Thanks to Matt Rousu and Chantelle Ridley, a female elephant in her mid thirties can begin a new life and put her working days behind her. Renamed Dao Tong (Golden Star), she was formerly known as Sai Roong (which means…