Elephant Haven – Sai Yok Kanchanburi
After months of preparation we are pleased to introduce this new elephant freedom project. Elephant Haven - Our newest program in Sai Yok Kanchanaburi, is located in the South West of Thailand in the beautiful Sai Yok National Park region.…
Resurrected – a ghost brought back to life…
On the second of February 2015 after a 20 hour truck ride, a rickety shadow of an elephant arrived to Elephant Nature Park. There have been numerous elephants rescued since the founding of ENP back in 1995, many arriving in…
Sook Sai settles in
[fusion_text]After a long truck ride from the Surin province, on January 17th a very worn out fifty year old elephant stepped off the truck at ENP, yet unaware that her well deserved retirement had finally begun. She has been renamed…
Mintra Celebrates Fifth Anniversary at ENP
And so it begins ... Before arriving to Elephant Nature Park on the last day of February 2009, Mintra spent her whole life as a street begging elephant. Mintra seemed to develop slowly, possibly because of her dislocated hips. Though…
Spotlight: Grandma Auntie Mae Thai
Often overlooked, 60-something year old Mae Thai — a grandma auntie on the Faa Mai side of our largest family group — has been at Elephant Nature Park since December 2002. She became one of Tong Jaan’s aunties in late 2005, not long after Tong Jaan and Mae Bua Tong’s arrival. She has remained a loyal auntie to Tong Jaan ever since and has helped look after some of the new arrivals as well. Mae Thai’s protective nature sometimes gets the best of her. Though most of her fellow herd members are quite social and friendly with other elephants when they wander over to visit, Mae Thai will often try to chase them away!
Thai (over Dok Mai) shares a precious moment with her family herd.
Meet the Mahout: Navann’s Dam
One of the nicest, most competent and well known mahouts at the Elephant Nature Park is 36-year-old Dam. He is currently the mahout of Navann and Sri Prae. Dam comes from the Shan state of Burma (or Myanmar). About ten percent of our mahouts are Shan, who fled their homeland to escape persecution. Dam has been in Thailand for 15 years and has always worked as a mahout. His wife, Gayna, is also employed by ENP, and works in the kitchen. They have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter, Faa Sai. Dam is linguistically diverse and is fluent in Shan, Burmese, some Chinese, as well as Thai!
Mae Tee stays determined
Dear old Mae Tee. At around 60 years old, she has an indomitable spirit. Against all odds, Mae Tee is roaming further and further afield with each passing day.
Note how far behind Mae Tee the medical center is. Mae Tee really enjoys roaming far and wide.
She is enjoying fleeting interactive moments with Dok Mai, Dok Ngern and the other sociable members of that extended family group. She sometimes has pushing matches with Chang Yim.
Welcome to the (elephant) jungle
A new and long-awaited activity has finally begun here at Elephant Nature Park. The different social groups within our herd are taking turns going up to the jungle. The mountainside behind the mahout village is thick with the various jungle…