— Mae Boon Ma —
Mae Boon Ma is approximately 55 years old. Her name means "merit come" which represents the idea that good luck, or good merit in Buddhist terms will come to her owner. She arrived at the Park in June of 2003. As much as Lek has tried, she has never been able to succeed in buying Mae Boon Ma, but most likely she will remain at Elephant Nature Park on a lifetime lease. Her owner is about 62 years old, and Mae Boon Ma has been owned by his family since he was 10 years old. There may be superstitions regarding selling an elephant that has been in the family for so long, (especially a white one!) so he is reluctant to sell, but is happy for her to live her life comfortably at Elephant Nature Park. Thanks goes to a woman named Hope, who gave financial support to cover 10 months of Mae Boon Ma’s lease fees.
Mae Boon Ma has spent most of her life working in the logging industry, first legally, then after 1989, illegally. She even spent a period of time after the Thai logging ban working in logging legally over in Burma for a number of years. Lek came across her for the first time in 1995. By this time she was working at a trekking camp. She was very thin, completely exhausted and generally in bad condition. Overwork, lack of food and abuse had left her in poor health. Lek stayed in touch with her owner and kept track of Mae Boon Ma until finally the owner realized that she needed a much deserved rest and agreed to bring her to stay with Lek at the Park.
Mae Boon Ma is a white elephant. These elephants are extremely rare, very sacred and highly revered. Thailand used to be known as the land of the white elephant, and the old flag of Siam featured a white elephant on a red background. To be confirmed a true white elephant, an expert must examine the animal and check that seven certain characteristics are present:
1) White skin
2) White tail hair
3) White nails
4) White genitalia
5) White palate
6) White eyes
7) White body hair
In Thailand, a white elephant with all seven characteristics is considered a royal elephant, and is presented to the king in a special ceremony. Fortunately for us, Mae Boon Ma only has a few of these characteristics, so we can enjoy her special beauty here.
After 4 years at the Park Mae Boon Ma is a healthy elephant who is aging gracefully and looks younger than her years. No longer thin, she is quite the opposite with a big belly that protrudes way past her hips on either side, constantly leading to the question "is she pregnant?"
Since she disguises herself in a coating of dust or mud to protect from the sun and keep cool, she is a favorite at bath time where she is a wonder to behold as she is scrubbed by the visitors and volunteers. Upon emerging from the river she looks like a great white glowing elephant goddess. She is part of Tong Suk's family group and is quite fond of the young tusker, she also enjoys the company of her female companions, Lilly and Mae Keow.
To learn more about the histories and personalities of our elephants, please click on any of the links below.
— Gone But Not Forgotten —
Sadly, some elephants come to the Park not as permanent members of our herd, but only as temporary guests. We do all that we can in order to purchase them from their owners so that they never have to leave, but in some cases we are not successful. These elephants have been taken back by their owners and are sorely missed.
 Mae Boon and Aura |  Mae Elu |  Mae Toh Koh and Pupia |
 Phu Pa |
— In Loving Memory —
These beloved members of our herd have passed away, but they will live forever in our hearts and minds.
 Boon Khum (BK) |  Khum Min |  Mae Bia |
 Mae Mai |  Maximus (Max) |  RaRa |
 Ratree |
