— Mae Jan Peng —
Mae Jan Peng was born around 1945 and arrived to begin her much-deserved retirement at Elephant Nature Park on January 8, 2010. Her name means "full moon" and she has been owned by the same Karen hilltribe family for three generations. Mae Jan Peng's family realized that she was getting too old to work and contacted Elephant Nature Park to ask if she could live out the rest of her years here. Elephant Nature Park did not have to buy her, nor is she here on a leased basis.
Mae Jan Peng spent the first part of her life as a logging elephant and even after the ban in 1989, she most likely went to work in Burma to continue logging for a few years after that. From the early 1990's until the present she has worked as a trekking elephant. Despite so many years of hard work, Mae Jan Peng somehow still had time to produce six calves! Of her six offspring, one died because of complications giving birth, a daughter named Moh Tee Lee. Mae Jan Peng has three grandchildren and even has two great-grandchildren.
Mae Jan Peng is no stranger to Elephant Nature Park. She originally came to stay at the Park on a leased basis back in 2003 because she was very thin and run-down at that time. She should have stayed for at least six months to a year, but sadly the mahout/owner who had came to stay with her was impatient to be making money again. He rode Mae Jan Peng out of the Park one morning after only two or three months, with no explanation. Lek was very upset as Mae Jan Peng was in no condition to be working, but since she didn't belong to Elephant Nature Park, there wasn't much we could say. Lek did her best to keep track of Mae Jan Peng as the years passed. There was a few times when Mae Jan Peng had bee injured while working and she ended up in the hospital on two different occasions. Each time she came out of the hospital she moved to a trekking camp farther away from Elephant Nature Park. We never saw her again until her arrival in January of 2010.
This time, when yet another family member contacted Elephant Nature Park to ask if Mae Jan Peng could officially retire here at the Park, Lek was skeptical and made them swear that no one in the family would ever change their mind and try to take her back to work again. The family is not asking for a lease wage or expecting Lek to buy her. Besides being very thin and very old, Mae Jan Peng is in general good health and with time, lots of food and a relaxing lifestyle, she should really fill out and regain vitality. When this happens, some owners seem to forget that their elephant is still old and decide that they can get six months to a year more out of them making money. Mae Jan Peng has done more than her share of providing for the family she belongs to. Though they have yet to make an official reintroduction, Mae Jan Peng has worked with Mae Geao in the past and also is an old friend of Mae Boon Ma. We are very happy to be able to make Mae Jan Peng's "golden years" as peaceful as possible here at Elephant Nature Park.
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 |  Lilly |
 Mae Bia |  Mae Mai |  Maximus (Max) |
 RaRa |  Ratree |  Somboon |
