“Sri Nin here! I’m the oldest elephant at Samui Elephant Haven; I am thought to have been born in 1967 in Ranong, which is a small province in southern Thailand. For as long as I can remember, I was used as ‘machinery’ in the logging industry; endlessly dragging and pushing heavy teak wood trunks and logs. In 1989 the Thai government banned elephants in the logging trade. We all thought that this was great news until we started walking for endless miles carrying tourists on our backs. I was moved to Koh Samui by truck in 1999 where I continued to work in tourist trekking.
I’m a pretty stubborn old lady and sometimes when I used to get tired, I’d dig my heels in and not follow commands graciously. I am blind in one eye and as a result of this injury, I can be easily startled and have a nervous disposition. When you come and visit me; you’ll also see that the end of my tail is missing: it was bitten off by another elephant when I was young. Not having ‘tail hair’ makes it very difficult to swat away those pesky flies.
Sudarat has probably already told you that she pretends she doesn’t like me very much, well that’s OK because I get to be nanny to all three babies in our little herd. I enjoy living at the Haven very much and love all of the beautiful things that Maew does for us. Have you seen our new swimming pool? I think it’s the best infinity pool on the island! Lucky us”
