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Happy Songkran to all from Lek, the staff, and all of the eles at Elephant Nature Park! Songkran celebrates the Buddhist New Year and the beginning of the rainy season. After an excessively dry cold season with some of the worst burning in the valley since the Park moved to this location (on some days visibility of the mountains surrounding the Park was zero!), the rains have finally begun, the jungle and mountains are returning to their former green glory, and the sky is a beautiful blue once again. Mahout of the Month The Mahout of the Month Medo Award incentive program has been started thanks to funding from Park supporter Nancy Abraham of the Alexander Abraham Foundation. The mahout who is chosen for this title is given a bonus of 3,000 Thai baht and recognition for a job well done. The award is given based on overall job performance but focuses on the mahouts' treatment of and attention to their elephant, other elephants in the Park, and their behavior with the dogs and cats as well.
Another positive quality about Boonchu is how he interacts with the dogs and cats of the Park. He is gentle and affectionate with them as well. He always washes a dog or two in the river after all the elephants have gotten out, and he feeds and cares for the four dogs who live at his hut, treating wounds or infections if needed. He is always on the lookout for an animal in need and in the past Boonchu has rescued baby birds, baby owls, abandoned puppies, and other animals. He never teases or plays rough with any of the animals at Elephant Nature Park. His overall behavior makes him a good example for all mahouts to follow. Congratulations Boonchu!
Elephant Gossip On the 4th of March, Boon Khum went into musth with no early warning signs of stubborn behavior. He had been roaming freely with the herd the day before, but then the next morning he had a bit of temporin flowing from the pores at his temples. He cooperatively walked with his mahout to the area where he would be chained to spend his period of musth. Now out of the general population but in his physical and mental peak, he is awaiting female visitors to come take advantage of his virility and overall good health. Of course Mae Keow, well known for her interest in the Park males, has already paid him a visit or two, but BK is hoping for one of the younger, more fertile females to come to his aid in relieving his symptoms of musth, for his benefit and hers as well! Speaking of younger and more fertile females… On March 12th, Mae Bua Tong was exhibiting signs of estrus and was mated by Khum Min. Though it is not known for certain that she was in estrus, it is completely possible since Tong Jan is just past two years old and is eating a solid diet. While still nursing, she is no longer reliant on her mother's milk to sustain her. Prior to mating, Khum Min expressed an excessive interest in the scent that Mae Bua Tong was emitting, and she led him on a brief mock chase expecting to be caught. After the act was completed, all of the females and youngsters in the area gathered around Mae Bua Tong and Khum Min (who was looking very satisfied with himself) and an amazing display of behavior and vocalization took place with all the eles seeming to express great excitement. Mae Keow has her moments with the bulls all the time, but no one ever seems to take notice, so it seems that this particular act of mating might have been something special. (Meanwhile, BK off on his own in musth, wonders in frustration why Mae Bua Tong didn't come to visit him!) Will a beautiful little baby elephant be the result of this reproductive act? We don't know for sure, but stay tuned for future updates and keep your fingers crossed!
New Elephants Arrive for Rest and Relaxation Recently we are getting more and more examples of owners who are showing concern for their elephant's health and well-being, and not just thinking of them as a money-making tool.
On a more somber note, another elephant had arrived at the Park at the end of April. Her name was Boon Tung. She was about twenty years old and came to stay at the Park to recover from a leg injury. Lek allowed her to roam freely with her mahout constantly keeping an eye on her. Within days of her arrival, she became friends with one of the Park's newest permanent residents, Mae Lanna. Until this time Mae Lanna had kept to herself, not bonding with anyone in the Park. But once she met Boon Tung, it was instant friendship. It was beautiful to see the two of them together. Sadly the owner had a different idea of how Boon Tung should be recuperating than Lek had. He wanted her kept on a chain at all times and isolated from all other elephants. Despite the fact that she was very happy and had made a new friend, after only one week her owner decided to take her away from the Park to confine her elsewhere.
Updates on the New Girls The three new arrivals who were mentioned in the last newsletter (Mae Geao, Mae Lanna, and Mae Bua Kham) are all settling in well. Mae Geao is steadily gaining weight, but remains on the fringes not yet finding her place in the herd. Mae Loi, who Lek renamed Mae Lanna, is really making progress and is gaining confidence with her surroundings and the other elephants daily. She is receiving daily treatment for her eye injury and is showing signs of improvement. And the gentle old girl Mae Bua Kham is given the respect deserved of someone her age by the majority of the herd and roams the Park freely. She is filling out with a steady diet of soft, ripe bananas and gaining new human admirers daily.
Elephants, Cows, and Water Buffalo! Oh My! Everyone is well aware of Lek's love for all animals. Whether furred, feathered, or tall with trunks, she can't turn down an animal in need and the Park population is always growing. Just recently a new cow arrived of her own free will and decided that the Park was the place for her. No one knows who she belongs to or where she came from. No one has come to the Park looking for a missing cow. She is very gentle and calm and has made no attempt to leave and join her original herd, though she is in no way restrained and could go at any time she wished. She has been a good example to our three resident cows in showing that if you don't react to the dogs, the dogs don't react to you!
Johnny is an old bull who Lek rescued back in 1997. Before Lek met him, he had escaped death seven times because each time he was taken to slaughter, he begged for his life by kneeling down and shedding tears. His original owner sold him to the slaughterhouse, even though he knew Johnny begged for mercy, because this was how he made his living. Thinking Johnny was long dead, months later he was taking his new buffalo to slaughter and recognized the old bull. He asked the man working there where this buffalo was from and the man told him he had been through many slaughter houses but no one had the heart to kill him because of the way he begged for his life.
She had been paying someone to care for the water buffalo until this time, but that person moved away and Lek decided to bring the buffalo to the Park. Now they are enjoying the tender young grasses that have sprouted up since the rains have begun.
New Office Grand Opening
There was a grand opening gala, which started early on the 22nd with a blessing ceremony by Buddhist monks. Vanessa and Andy, volunteer coordinators at the Park for the last 3 months, were in attendance and gave us their account of the night's events:
May the opening of this new office bring Lek and her elephants good fortune and more funds so the project may continue to grow and prosper in the future.
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Copyright © 2007 Elephant Nature Foundation. All rights reserved. | ||||||||
For the month of March the award goes to Boonchu, the mahout of 
On the 3rd of April, Mae Nuan arrived at Elephant Nature Park at her owner's request, to stay for the duration of her pregnancy and for some time after giving birth to ensure a healthy and robust calf. This is yet another owner who is not asking for a monthly lease fee, but is genuinely interested in his elephant being comfortable and well cared for with no chance of miscarriage due to overwork.
A herd of six water buffalo are the newest arrivals to the Park, one of whom has a quite amazing rescue story.
At this time the original owner contacted Lek and asked if she had a home for him. (Of course she did!) Lek has had Johnny ever since. He became famous for a time after Lek rescued him. She alerted the media and many news articles were written about Johnny the "water buffalo who begged for his life" which raised public awareness about slaughtering animals for food.
The moment has arrived! The new office grand opening was officially April 22nd, Earth Day. It was worth the delay to make sure that everything was just perfect. The office is bright and spacious with an open floor plan, and there are five computers with internet access for use at thirty baht an hour. The walls are adorned with amazing sepia toned photographs by Lek of her beloved elephants, which are also for sale. There is a flat screen television on one wall for potential visitors to view informational videos about the Park.
"We arrived at the office at 8:30pm to an already heaving crowd. It was lovely to see a mix of Lek's friends, supporters, staff, and volunteers all mingling together. There were many people from all walks of life who have given whatever their lifestyle has allowed to support Lek and her passion for helping elephants. It was a fantastic evening with many a photograph being taken, which we hope will be uploaded to the website for all to see. The celebration went long into the evening with the last revelers still around past 11pm."
