— Lilly —
Lilly was born some time between 1955 and 1965. Her new life of early retirement started in 1995 when Lek bought her with her own funds and Lily went to live at Elephant Haven. Her original name was Mae We, a Karen name, but with a new life, sometimes a new name is needed and the first volunteers who worked with her asked to give her the name of a beautiful flower so she would be sure to blossom back into a beautiful elephant.
Lilly has suffered more overwork and exploitation than most of the elephants at Elephant Nature Park. She originally worked as a logging elephant like the majority of the Thai elephant population until 1989 when logging was banned. Often an elephant is not owned by one individual, but collectively by a family. Each member of the family gets their time to work the elephant to earn a living. In Lilly’s case two different family members were desperate for money, so they both worked her at the same time. Often times the welfare of the elephant gets overlooked so the owners can feed their families. Lilly was used by one owner for work trekking in the daytime and then by another owner at night illegal logging.
It didn’t take long for Lilly’s physical and mental resources to become depleted. Working all day and night was taking its toll on her. The mahout who worked her illegal logging at night found using methamphetamines (speed) kept him from feeling tired, so he decided to give them to Lilly as well. This sadly, is common practice with many elephants working double shifts. At first the drugs seemed to have positive results, Lilly worked hard all night, not wanting to rest or stop to eat or drink. Seen as a money making machine, she was pushed as far as she could go. Soon she was an emaciated, walking, zombie. Lilly became "spaced out" and unresponsive without her amphetamine fix. While on the drugs she had become skittish and paranoid acting. So much over work and so much drug use was a recipe for a heart attack. Her owners had used her to her full limit, and she was ready to collapse.
It was at this time that Lek first discovered Lilly on a Jumbo Express trip. Her face and body were swollen from fresh cuts. Lilly could barely stand up, her legs were shaking, her eyes were rolling and saliva was dripping from her mouth. She had refused to work and her mahout was trying to beat her into returning to work again.
Lek asked if the owners were interested in selling Lilly, and the family was happy to get rid of an elephant in such poor condition. After buying Lilly, Lek stayed with her at a nearby village for three months before moving her to Elephant Haven. During this time Lek put her through a sort of detox and treated her with herbal medicines and fed Lilly as much as she could get her to eat, so she would be strong enough to make the move. Even in this short time, with Lek’s love and constant care, Lilly’s health improved dramatically.
Now at Elephant Nature Park, Lilly has many years of leisure behind her already, and many years ahead as well. She is a park favorite and has many loyal fans. She has been friends with Mae Keow since her arrival in 1998 and Lilly’s family group includes Mae Keow, Mae Boon Ma and the young Tong Suk.
To learn more about the histories and personalities of our elephants, please click on any of the links below.
