Meet the Mahout: A Profile of Elephant Nature Park’s Tuun

Being a mahout at Elephant Nature Park is quite different than being a mahout elsewhere. We encourage our mahouts to let the elephants do what they want and not intervene unless it is necessary.  If they have prior experience working with elephants, this is a completely different concept than what they are used to.

At a typical elephant camp, a mahout tries to maintain total control of the elephant at all times.  The elephant has little or no free roaming time and is expected to obey their mahout’s commands or face the painful consequences. A mahout spends most of the day “driving” the elephant – sitting on their shoulders or atop their head, ankus hook in hand. The elephant is always aware of their presence.

Here, at Elephant Nature Park, looking after an elephant is a mostly hands-off affair. There is no riding the elephants (except for Hope) and no bull hooks. The way we see it, our mahouts should be listening to the elephants, NOT the elephants listening to the mahouts. A good mahout has their elephant’s best interests in mind all of the time. Sadly, for many of our mahouts this perception is difficult to embrace or understand. Finding mahouts with the right personality to work with our elephants is challenging, to say the least.

So, when we notice a mahout who seems to enjoy interacting with elephants and the other animals as well, we are very grateful to have them working with us. Elephant Nature Park is lucky to have a number of mahouts who have made a positive difference in the lives of the elephants they care for.

We would like to introduce these mahouts to you, by telling you a little bit  about them and a typical day looking after their elephants.

One of the most easy-going and gentle mahouts at Elephant Nature Park is Tuun, who has been the mahout of Medo for more than six years. Tuun is one of a handful of Thai Yai or Shan, from the Shan state of Burma. Many thousands of Shan people have chosen to flee their homeland to escape persecution from the Burma Army. Tuun is married to Aom, who works in the park’s kitchen. They have two beautiful daughters, Gaeng Hom (11-years-old) and a four-month-old, Kaao Hom. In his mid thirties, Tuun has been a mahout for around 10 years.

When Tuun first came to Elephant Nature Park he cared for an elephant named Mae Mai. After Mae Mai, Tuun was mahout of Mae Perm for a while. His kind, placid manner make the elephants in his care feel safe and therefore easier to manage. At that time, Medo (who was still considered a new arrival) was in dire need of a special mahout.

It was decided that Tuun would be a good match for her. A better choice could not have been made. Medo immediately responded to Tuun and the pair settled in to a comfortable relationship.

At 7 a.m. there is still a slight chill in the air. The morning sunlight bathes Medo and Mae Lanna in a beautiful golden orange glow. Depending on how well Tuun’s new baby slept the night before, Tuun usually arrives at this time. On some mornings, Medo is still laying down. Tuun is always respectful of her, waiting patiently outside of the shelter, not wanting to disturb her. He can’t help but smile as he gazes upon her form. Medo may weigh about 2-1/2 tons, but she looks so small when she is lying down.  She finally notices him standing there and rises to her feet. They exchange morning greetings.

Medo is not a difficult elephant to care for. She would never try to harm another elephant and rarely does anything that would be considered inappropriate. Because of this, Tuun can release her before he cleans up the dung and leftover food from her area. Whenever it is possible, Tuun will set aside a few bundles of corn or grass so that Medo has a nice snack waiting for her each morning.

Medo’s best friend is Mae Lanna. Because of their close relationship they are rarely apart from each other and easy to manage as a pair. They usually set off ahead with Tuun and Nuum (Mae Lanna’s mahout) trailing behind. Once the ladies choose an area to settle in for the morning, their mahouts find a shady spot and settle in themselves. There is no need for Tuun to be right next to Medo, he just needs to be close enough to be able to call out to her or get up to run over to protect her if necessary. While sitting and keeping watch over his elephant, Tuun may pass the time listening to music and or carving images of Medo out of wood to sell in the gift shop.

At around 10:30 a.m,, Tuun walks with Medo up to the skywalk where she meets the day visitors. Tuun usually sits on the steps as the visitors feed Medo. Once this task is finished Tuun takes Medo to her favorite mid-day hang out spot of the moment – the opposite river bank. Medo loves it over here, as well as Mae Lanna and Sao Yai, who has been spending most of her time with them as of late. Tuun and Nuum take turns having lunch. Since Medo is so content and out of the way in this location, Tuun will often stop by his hut to spend some time with his new baby girl.

As much as Tuun’s job is about leaving Medo alone to do her own thing, he also takes time each day to check her over from head to toe; making sure that she is free from injury or parasites. Tuun spends so much time watching Medo and knows her so well that any change in her gait, demeanor, eating or defecation habits is immediately noticed.

Medo has great trust in Tuun and believes that he will always steer her in the right direction when needed and keep her safe from harm. After bathing time, Tuun tries to find a place where Medo and her friends can beat the heat. Quite often they choose to hang out right at their own shelter. They have ample shade and a great breeze there. Ultimately, Tuun leaves it up to the elephants to choose and then follows along behind.

Finally it is 4:15p.m. The elephants have become accustomed to the schedule. Medo and Mae Lanna lead the way back to the shelter with their mahouts, again, trailing behind. The girls wait patiently for the truck which delivers their night ration of grass or cornstalks. Tuun and Nuum take turns either staying with Medo and Mae Lanna or riding out with the grass truck. Tuun unloads the food for Medo, always taking time to pick out the best looking bundles for her.

When finished, Tuun, the kind-hearted mahout bids the very special, resilient elephant Medo a farewell and goodnight in his own personal way … until tomorrow, when another day will begin again.