— Mae Elu —

Mae Elu is thought to have been born sometime around 1950. She is a leased elephant who arrived at Elephant Nature Park in mid 2005. She was brought to Elephant Nature Park because her last two pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Her owner is not interested in selling her, but is content to let her rest and get fat and healthy for the time being.

Her early years were spent working in the logging industry, like many elephants. During this period she gave birth to three babies, yet only one is still alive today. When logging became illegal in 1989, Mae Elu was put to work at a tourist trekking camp. She went through several periods of being heavily worked, but also had times of rest.

For a long time her mahout was her owner’s grandson, who gave her ample time to forage in the jungle. When the grandson had to return to school, Mae Elu was sent to a new trekking camp with a new mahout. Here she was worked very hard making seven to eight one hour treks each day. The new mahout was extremely inattentive, and from either malice or laziness he would leave the tourist seat on her back throughout the night, which made it impossible for her to lie down to sleep.

She started to show signs of pregnancy, and the mahout was advised to give her more time to rest and relax. However, since mahouts make the majority of their money from tips, the advice was not taken. Sometimes she was beaten for walking too slowly. After a couple of months, Mae Elu had a miscarriage.

Mae Elu was first seen by Park staff on a Jumbo Express to the camp where she worked. Her owner asked if she could come to stay at Elephant Nature Park, along with her blood related nephew, Pu Pah. Lek agreed and they soon started a new stage of their lives enjoying ample food, freedom and relaxation at the Park. She loves to bathe in the river, often lingering after all the other elephants have finished. Her true passion, however is caring for babies. She has became one of Tong Jan’s aunties, and enjoys her role to the fullest.

To learn more about the histories and personalities of our elephants, please click on any of the links below.
 

Dok Ngern	Faa Sai	Hope
Jokia	Khum Min	Lilly
Mae Boon Ma	Mae Bua Kham	Mae Bua Loy
Mae Bua Tong	Mae Dta Keow	Mae Geao
Mae Keow	Mae Kham Geao	Mae Kham Sai
Mae Lanna	Mae Perm	Malai Tong
Medo	Mintra	Somboon
Sri Nuan	Taa Raa (Jarunee)	Thai
Tong Jan	Tong Suk (Jungle Boy)

— 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)	Mae Bia	Mae Mai
Maximus (Max)