OUR RESCUED ELEPHANTS

“Hello, you’ll probably best know me as the cheeky one or the diva. I’m Nong Pech. I was born on Koh Samui island in 2012, so I’m still pretty young. I was with my mum, Somboon, until some people took me to Surin in the north-east of Thailand to become a street beggar; just like Sorn Ram. It’s such a hard job for a baby elephant; I’d walk on hot pavements all day long, amongst smelly traffic, beeping horns and impatient people; often feeling very hungry and of course, missing my mum. One horrible day I took a tumble and fell down a deep drain and was injured. Maew rescued me and took me to his sanctuary in Surin, where I spent the next two years recovering from my horrific injuries.

It was in Maew’s sanctuary that I met my best friend Moloair, we are inseparable, and I lead her astray sometimes. Maew shakes his head in amusement, but really he is just happy to see me having fun and enjoying life again.

We all moved to our beautiful island where we now live in Samui Elephant Haven. You might remember seeing in the news in May 2019, that my mum and Sri Nuan walked from the south of the island to the north where we all are now. I was so happy to see her again; I also love Moloair and our nannies too. Sometimes I feel that I split my loyalties between them all. Kwan Samui recently joined our herd; we are now ‘triple-trouble’”.

“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 do 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 swatting 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”.

“I’m Plai Bang; this means ‘boy elephant’ in Thai. I’m a bit of a ‘Jack the Lad’, well, I used to be until it got me into trouble. You see, I was taken from my mother when I was only two years old. All-day long, I walked up and down the beach at a hotel, only stopping to have my photograph taken and to be fed watermelon and bananas.

By the time I was six, I was too big to be cute, so I moved to a riding camp where I would spend my days carrying people in a big chair. It was here that I used my wit and learned how to beg. I became that sweet little boy again making chirping sounds: the tourists loved this and fed me! I still do it now when I feel cheeky.

As I grew up, I felt empty because I missed my mother, and I started to go through musth, which is the equivalent of puberty in elephants. Only boy elephants go through this, and we can become aggressive for months. I’d challenge the other elephants and one day, I got into a horrible fight and really hurt two of my friends. My behaviour led me to be chained-up for five years. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, and I became sad at life; I lashed out, I threw things at people and generally became unpredictable. I was so stressed that I would spend much of my day swinging my head. Did you know that this is a sign of a very depressed and unhappy elephant?

Maew and the team at the Samui Elephant Haven decided that they would try and help me. Noi became my new mahout, and he is very patient with me, he has taught me a lot, and I know that he loves me: and I’ve calmed down and stopped swaying. They plan to provide me with a new enclosure of almost two acres, but they need to develop virtually half a kilometre of steel-reinforced concrete pillars to keep me safe. This costs a lot of money. I am 27 years old now and have the most spectacular tusks that cross over at the end”.

“My name is Sorn Ram. I was born and raised in the north of Thailand. I started my life in the teak wood logging trade where we would push, pull and roll big logs all day long, the job was risky; especially for a baby elephant who didn’t listen!

When we are little, we like to play, you’ll see in my right ear that I have quite a big hole, our ears are one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies. One day, I moved to the Surin Province of Thailand, where I was forced to beg on the streets for money.

When I was 30 years old, and just after my birthday I was relocated again to Koh Samui, a beautiful island with fantastic jungle and coconut plantations. It was much easier on my feet than boiling-hot pavements, but I had to carry a heavy metal chair and tourists every day. I thought my life was going to get better, but for ten years I walked the same route time and time again, come rain or shine. During this time, I injured my leg, and it got infected. I did have vets come and see me at the riding camp, but I needed long term care for it to get better.

Maew heard of my sad life and my injuries and took me with him to Samui Elephant Haven when I was 45 years old. I haven’t been here long, and I’m still settling in. My mahout at the Haven is looking after me very well, and my wound is getting a lot better; it isn’t as painful as before. The whole team is very caring, and so far, I like it here. I can sleep peacefully for the first time in my life on my big sand pile. Thank you all for rescuing me and for bringing me ‘home’”.

“Hello, I’m Sri Nuan. I was with Somboon when we walked across the island to freedom. It was a long walk for a sick old lady. The procession had to keep stopping so that I could rest. At about the halfway point, the vet had to come and see me and give me a drip because I was so dehydrated. We did eventually make it.

I’ve spent my entire life working and not being looked after properly. For many years I was in the logging industry, hauling massive teak logs out of the forests in the northern region of Thailand. I didn’t like it. In 1989 elephant logging was banned in Thailand, which we all thought was great news, until we were forced to carry tourists in heavy chairs every day.

I came to Koh Samui about ten years ago when I was 40 years old, where I continued to trek with the tourists. It was during this time that I met Maew. He promised me that one day, he would rescue me from trekking and that I would be free. He kept his promise. I’ve had so many horrible things happen to me, I’ve shut much of my life away so that I don’t have to think about it all. I know that I don’t get on well with other grown-up elephants, but I do love the babies. I’m so happy that Somboon’s baby has been born.

They keep me in an enclosure because I try and fight with the other elephants. I don’t want to, but I just can’t help it. My mahout has to prepare food for me every day. I only have one tooth left, so I struggle to eat, which leads to indigestion problems. I have minced watermelon, bananas and leaves. It’s much more beautiful being at the Haven where I can rest and sleep well for the first time. It’s a joy seeing Kwan Samui, Moloair and Nong Pech play together, I feel happy when I watch them”.