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Elephant Nature Park’s Navann Enjoys New Nannies

Four-month-old Navann has been having more fun than ever in the past few weeks at Elephant Nature Park.

His evening trips to the mud pit accompanied by mom Sri Prae and auntie Mae Kham Paan have been lasting longer and longer, finally climaxing with the long awaited first trip to the river.

At first we had thought that Sri Prae would not feel safe taking Navann to the river without a few more guardians, so we were not pushing the idea. The plan was to introduce Malai Tong and Jarunee to see if they all could get on without any stress or conflict. While this was still in the works, Mae Kham Paan and Navann decided they were ready, taking the initiative and heading to the river’s edge one fine afternoon after an extended romp in the mud. Once the two of them reached the water, Sri Prae could do nothing but follow.

Navann's herd grows to include Malai Tong and Jarunee as aunties at Elephant Nature Park

Navann’s herd grows to include Malai Tong and Jarunee as aunties (from left – right: Sri Prae, Mae Kham Paan, Navann, Malai Tong, Jarunee)

Navann could not have been more excited! The river was a giant wading pool to him. He could hardly contain himself — rushing around splashing and tumbling down into the water, Mom and Auntie doing their best to keep him inbetween their legs. That first experience was kept short and sweet but from that day forward, playing in the river became part of the routine and something that Navann looked forward to with great anticipation.

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Elephant Nature Park’s Kwanjai Feeling Her Age

Dear, amazing, determined, resilient Kwanjai. What she has been through, and how well she has done despite it all, is truly incredible.

Kwanjai arrived to Save Elephant Foundation’s Elephant Nature Park in late 2010. When rescued she was already on “her last legs” and we were unsure how long she would be with us.Kwanjai at Elephant Nature Park

Originally called “Lamyai,” her name was changed to Kwanjai when she arrived to the park, in honor of her much deserved retirement and new life. Kwanjai promptly decided that she was not quite ready to give up. You could almost hear her thinking “FINALLY! No trekking seat, no logging harness, no bull hook, no ignorant tourists or mahouts riding on me…I am sticking around to get the most I can out of this place!'” 

And so she did.

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Elephant Nature Park’s Baby Navann Gets Down and Dirty

elephant-nature-park-sri-prae

Elephant Nature Park’s newest mother ‘Mae’ Sri Prae is a bit on the cautious side to say the least! Since Navann’s arrival the pair have spent most of their time in the shelter with the occasional outing at the end of the day. Navann is so curious and over-excited to explore everything and everywhere, he often takes off running ahead of Sri Prae and grandma-auntie Mae Kham Paan. This, of course, causes them to panic and charge after him.

More often than not, Navann is rushing towards other elephants, either with the intention of introducing himself to them or sometimes out of confusion, wanting to take refuge under their bodies —  forgetting that the females who are expecting that kind of behavior are actually BEHIND him!

These situations can lead to chaos and unexpected harm, possibly to Navann. Trying to stop an overexcited, healthy, robust three-month-old bull elephant on a mission is no easy task!
Sri Prae has become accustomed to the boundaries of the chain-free shelter and knows Navann is safe to run as he wishes when in their space, but the outside world is a different story! When released it can sometimes take a while for Sri Prae and Mae Kham Paan to relax and enjoy themselves.

The mud pit has been the destination of choice on the most recent outings.

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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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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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The BEST Christmas Gifts

Family group at Elephant Nature Park with Ball

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.

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Merry Christmas from all at ENP / Save Elephant Foundation!!!!

Festive mahout in Santa hat with Mintra at Elephant Nature ParkDeck 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.

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