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!

Sao Yai is quite the character — playful, friendly, loyal, considerate, versatile, fun-loving and even helpful! She can be a companion, auntie and sometimes even a back-up mahout when all else fails and Hope won’t go to his shelter at the end of the day.

At this time, Sao Yai has replaced the late Mae Dta Keow and helps to form a trio with Mintra and Mae Jampaa, sharing a shelter at night. But, Sao Yai has many other ele-friends at Elephant Nature Park whom she visits through out each day.

Her first stop each morning is usually Mae Lanna and Medo. At this time Mae Lanna has an eye infection that is being treated multiple times a day, causing her discomfort and affecting her usually sunny disposition.

She is very aware of her friend’s pain and lately has been rushing out to the pair each morning, rumbling and trumpeting all the way across the property. Upon arrival, the trio cluster and exchange greetings after which Sao Yai pays special attention to Mae Lanna’s eye, using her trunk to tentatively and gently touch her friend on the cheek and other areas around the eye (never directly touching her eye) in a comforting and sympathetic gesture. Mae Lanna greatly enjoys the added company of Sao Yai and Medo has grown much more comfortable with Sao Yai as well. It appears that this pair would happily accept Sao Yai as a third best friend!

When Sao Yai is finally called away by Mintra and Jampaa, Mae Lanna gets a bit confused and conflicted and often rushes off behind Sao Yai as she rejoins her other friends. Unfortunately, almost every group has at least one elephant who can be jealous of non-members and Mae Jampaa is one of these elephants. It is potentially volatile for Mae Lanna and Mae Jampaa to be too close to each other or a “girl fight” could break out leading to serious harm. Mae Lanna is called back to Medo, who has the common sense to steer clear of Mae Jampaa.

Sao Yai is also popular with Faa Mai, Chang Yim and the majority of the members in their family group. There was a period of time when she was spending so much time with them that it seemed that she could become a full-time auntie. But, Sri Nuan may have felt threatened by her continuous presence, growing popularity and was possibly having a bad day. She became aggressive with Sao Yai prompting the mahouts to keep Sao Yai apart from the family. Loving babies and youngsters as much as she does, this development made Sao Yai feel sad. Thankfully, Sao Yai also has a soft spot for pre-teen bulls. She decided to spend her newly acquired spare time with Tong Suk, who appreciates her companionship. Both Hope and Tong Suk enjoy the “friends with benefits” relationship they can have with Sao Yai.

A few days ago, Sao Yai wandered over to Mae Tee. Though Mong Dee rushed over to take the elephant away, worried that she might push Mae Tee, it appeared that Mae Tee did not feel threatened by her presence and wished she could stick around longer.

During her first month at Elephant Nature Park, Sao Yai took to spending time with Sri Prae out in the back of the park and a friendship was forming until one fine morning when Hope passed by. Sao Yai was distracted by Hope’s swagger and the possible bond with Sri Prae did not develop further.

These days, before Sao Yai goes to her shelter for the night, she spends time in front of Sri Prae and Navann’s shelter. There is definite mutual interest between Navann and Sao Yai, Navann often reaching out to smell and try to touch her as she lingers nearby.

When elephants arrive to the park, they are usually either quite emaciated, or at least a bit on the thin side. It is common for them to gain a noticeable amount of weight in their first year with us. There have been more than a few occasions when a new elephant has arrived with whispers that she may be pregnant. Sao Yai is one of those.

With Sri Prae’s recent birth of Navann, we have started to consider Sao Yai’s ever-growing belly as more than just a result of all of the good food!

Sao Yai has even been spending more time with the family group (Mae Thai and Mae Sri Nuan excluded). She seems incredibly happy to hang out with Dok Ngern and Faa Sai, as well as dote upon Faa Mai and Chang Yim. It is because she is feeling more maternal due to the belly bulge that could be more than just a healthy serving of pumpkins?

Only time will tell, so be sure to stay tuned!