— Mintra —
Mintra (a true mini-Medo) was born around 1998, and originally came from Mae Hong Son province. Her name has a Burmese origin and refers to 'a beautiful lady' in Burmese literature. The funds for her rescue were generously provided by Darrick Thomson, who is a man with a heart of gold. Darrick wanted to rescue Mintra in honor of his mother's 80th birthday. A group of lucky volunteers took a trip by mini bus to Surin to pick Mintra up and had the unforgettable experience of ushering a formerly exploited young elephant in to a new life where they can roam freely all day long and enjoy the company of other elephants. After an 18 hour journey, Mintra arrived at Elephant Nature Park around 12:30 p.m. on the 27th of February 2009. She backed off of the truck with no hesitation and was ready to head to the river and meet her new herd!
Mintra's mother was most probably an illegal logging elephant and as a young calf, Mintra had no choice but to trudge along behind her mother as she worked under dangerous conditions. It is likely that Mintra received her first injury during that period of time, in a logging accident, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soon after that she was sold to people from the Surin Province and she worked as a street begging elephant, in Bangkok. At around 4 years old, she was hit by a vehicle, and sustained more damage to her hips and back right leg. Street begging is the most dangerous job for an elephant, and an average of fifteen elephants per month are injured in traffic accidents. The woman who owned Mintra at this time decided to sell her to her nephew, who continued her street begging career, as there wasn't much else an elephant in Mintra's condition could do. She is very small for her age, as being injured so severely at such a young age most likely curbed her natural growth process.
Lek heard about this young 'mini-Medo-esque' street begging elephant from many people who had seen her begging in Siam Square, a super shopping center area in Bangkok, before coming to volunteer or visit at the Park. Reports of this elephant were coming in so often, Lek decided to investigate to find out more in regards to where she came from and if the owner would be interested in selling her. Around the same time, there was another interested party who wanted to buy Mintra, who would continue her working in street begging. Thankfully her owner had a good heart and even though both parties were offering the same amount of cash, he liked the idea of her coming to live at a sanctuary where she could enjoy life and no longer have to work to earn her keep. Even though Mintra had been working for a living, her previous owner had been gentle with her and Mintra had no signs of fresh wounds or scarring from being repeatedly being beaten with a hook. Despite her obvious handicap, she was in pretty good condition.
Mintra is still settling in and there are many possibilities as to which social/family group she could end up with. Most of the elephants at the Park are very interested in her and she is enjoying all of the attention. She could be nicknamed 'the screamer' as she lets out a very loud scream at least a few times a day, possibly testing the response time of her potential family groups to her mock distress, or maybe it is a 'I can't believe I am really here' scream. Either way, she has been spending her mornings with Malai Tong (who has appointed herself as a definite big sister/auntie-type and never leaves her side) and the rest of the Mae Tong Dee/Tong Tae family and after the river she and Malai Tong have spent some afternoons with Tong Jaan's family. Life holds much promise for mighty little Mintra.
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) |  Mae Bia |  Mae Mai |
 Maximus (Max) |
