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Three New Arrivals Are Welcomed At The Park! Two stately old ladies and one young gal have a new life ahead of them at Elephant Nature Park. Although Mae Geao, Mae Bua Kam, and Mae Loi each have unique stories, now all of them will enjoy exploring their new home and making new friends at the Park. Late last December, Mae Geao (which means "Crystal") arrived at Elephant Nature Park. Thanks for sponsoring her rescue goes collectively to Englishman Hinesh Patel and a donation from the Trudy Broxap Memorial Fund given via EleAid, a British charity. Mae Geao was a Karen-owned elephant who worked in logging until the government's ban in 1989. At that time, she was sent to Burma to continue her logging career for the next seventeen years. Two years ago, she was brought back to Thailand and put to work at a trekking camp. It was soon obvious she was too old to work. Since arriving at the Park, Mae Geao spends most of her time wandering and eating. She arrived extremely thin with dry, cracked skin and thick scabs on her forehead and tailbone from being hit with the hook. She is easy to identify by an "R" brand on her right hip and her half tail, an old injury inflicted by another elephant. Although she has yet to bond with anyone, we hope she will make friends in the future. Mae Bua Kam (which means "Golden Lotus") arrived on February 9th. The story of her arrival at Elephant Nature Park is a heartwarming tale, the likes of which we hope to hear more of in the future. At more than 70 years of age, Mae Bua Kam's owner realized it was time for her to retire. He contacted Lek to ask if she could live out her golden years in the relaxing atmosphere of the Park. Lek does not have to buy her or pay a monthly lease fee; the owner has willingly given her freedom for the rest of her days. On February 23rd, after a day-long journey from Surin, 27-year-old Mae Loi (which means "Floating Elephant") started the first day of her new life at Elephant Nature Park. She is 85% blind from work-related injuries, although the exact details of how she lost her sight are unknown. The funds for her rescue were donated by Nancy Abraham and Singer Rankin from World Women Work. An Elephant Nature Park team, including our vet and three volunteers, took a Jumbo Express road trip to rescue her from a life of street begging in Surin. They drove through the night without any rest. On the way back, the volunteers rode in the transport truck with Mae Loi to ensure she was safe and comfortable during the trip to her new home. Upon arrival, she was offered food, but only ate a little. Curiosity and her sense of smell eventually got the best of her and she wished to explore her new surroundings more. She first met Tong Jan and her mom. Other eles came up for a sniff while she made her way to the river. Hope barreled his way over to her to say hello, but was led away before he could get too playful too fast. The most touching moment came when she was out in the river and Medo slowly and purposefully made her way over to Mae Loi, tentatively reaching out her trunk in greeting. Hopefully a friendship will grow, but only time will tell. A long-legged beauty, Mae Loi will surely capture the interest of our resident males as she settles in.
After lengthy musth periods last rainy season, both Khum Min and Boon Khum have enjoyed the cool season musth-free, roaming with the girls, and making frequent trips to Elephant Haven. Pu Pah (Boon Pah) is still popular with the ladies, especially Mae Keow, who has chosen him as her favorite boy toy. Max, on the other hand, went into musth after the dry season started. He stayed in musth for approximately three months during which time Mae Mai never left his side, except to go to the river, to eat, or go to her sleeping spot. This new pattern was a bit distressing for Mae Mai's new friend, Medo, who had grown to count on her companionship. Everyone waited to see what would happen once Max's musth period ended—would Mae Mai go back to Medo? Must-free at last, Max is able to roam once again, but his female shadow is still with him at all times. Occasionally Mae Mai will get mad if Max receives too much attention from the other females and will go off to sulk for a while. In the meantime, Medo is looking for a new friend to replace flirtatious Mae Mai.
We have been experiencing more random socialization lately as our ladies seek company outside their normal family groups. Mae Perm and Jokia are often seen in the company of Sri Nuan, Dok Ngern, Malai Tong, Mae Toh Koh, and Pupia. And recently Malai Tong and Dok Ngern were seen spending an afternoon with Max and Mae Mai. Thai has also been seeking out the company of her old companion Max on some days, much to the distress of Mae Mai. Somboon continues to split her time between Hope, Mae Perm and Jokia, and Tong Jan's family group as well. With our new arrivals we also have more loners in the herd who will hopefully form alliances in time.
Every year during the dry season, one of the volunteer projects is to build a mud pit for the elephants to enjoy. This year's mud pit is one of the best yet. As the days get hotter, this is a great way for the eles to have some fun, cool down, and protect themselves from sunburn and insects. Our babies (Pupia, Tong Jan, and Aura) are the most frequent visitors to the mud pit, but the older youngsters often join in too. Dok Ngern, big sister/auntie to Pupia, goes in under the guise of protecting Pupia, but ends up having a lot of fun herself. Even Tong Suk can be seen splashing with them. Hope, also a longtime veteran of mud pit wrestling, was recently given a "time out" from playing in the mud pit for almost sitting on Pupia. The adults enjoy their own time in the mud pit too, some choosing to go in at random moments during the day when there are no crowds. Malai Tong goes in with the babies and again later on her own. Mae Boon and Aura often enjoy a private frolic on their own during the mid-afternoon, as do some of our old ladies.
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