Songkran (the Buddhist new year) is one of the most important holidays here in Thailand. Celebrated on April 15th, this is a time filled with Buddhist ritual as well as fun and lots and lots of water! This time of year is even more cause for celebration here at the Park as April 16th is the anniversary date of the start of Elephant Nature Park at our present location.

Five years ago, three volunteers walked with Hope and his mahout from Ban Lao, Lek's family home village, to the place that Hope now calls home. The following day was even more exciting as the elephants who had been living at Elephant Haven wandered on to the land that was to become their new home, emerging from the thick undergrowth at various places along the property line. At that time there was Mae Perm and Jokia, Lilly and Mae Keow, Boon Khum, Max, Thai and Siam. They all made their way at a pace that was comfortable for them and it was a beautiful and unforgettable sight to watch them arrive.

For Hope, seeing all of these adult elephants was very interesting and exciting, as he had not seen an older elephant since the loss of his Mom, just over a year before. As it turned out, Mae Perm was equally interested to see him as well, and immediately took him in and became his auntie. Along with the reluctant Jokia, the first family group was born!

The Park has grown very quickly in these past five years, and the volunteer and visitor programs have became a great success. Along the way the Park has experienced loss and endured natural disasters, but has pushed forward nonetheless.

None of this could have happened without the kind and generous Bert von Roemer, who donated the initial funds to Lek without any conditions so that she could buy this parcel of land. Also at that time Burt bought the first grass truck and Kham Minh (the Park's "number three" male). Burt has continued to support the Park as the years have passed.

Once again Burt, we thank you for your kindness and generosity throughout the years. We would also like to thank everyone who has helped the Park – whether you were a donor or a hard-working volunteer – we appreciate that you have been a part of making the Park become what it is today.

This year on the 16th of April, we had a blessing ceremony at the Park, in honor of songkran and to celebrate the Park's anniversary. Monks came from Muang Guud (our neighboring village), and blessed all present, including the elephants. Girls and women from the village performed traditional Thai dancing in honor of Lek and there was a ritual blessing performed between Lek and all of the Park staff.

May this new year bring good luck and good health to all involved with the Park, animals and humans. May we work together and move forward in peace.

Hope: Six Years Later

It is hard to imagine Hope as the weak and malnourished 1½-year-old that he was when he was first rescued by Lek six years ago. Our little orphan has really grown up! Now at 7½ years old, he is quite a character. Star of the mud pit, the clown prince of kissing, Hope always has a mischievous glint in his eye. He never fails to make you smile and to remind you to live life to its "funnest."

Hope's aunties are Mae Perm, Somboon, and Jokia. He enjoys their company, but he also likes to get out and "stir things up a bit" sometimes. Hope enjoys his time in the river and in the past has been referred to as an "elefish." He loves to try to get all 4 feet up in the air with his spine resting on the sandy river bottom. Hope loves an audience and will stay in as long as there are people watching, doing the equivalent of elephant back flips, rolling, diving, and playfully squirting himself and others with water.

Two favorite females not in his family group are Malai Tong and Sri Nuan. Hope enjoys playful pushing matches with the big-headed Sri Nuan, and flirtatious frolics in the river with Malai Tong. We are very proud of our growing young boy, the progress he has made with his training and his friendly personality. He is our "hope" for the future that more young elephants can have a life like his, having fun and free from work and excessive cruelty.

Ele Gossip: Mae Bua Kham and Mae Lanna Celebrate One-Year Anniversary!

Recently both Mae Bua Kham and Mae Lanna celebrated their one-year anniversary of living at the Park. Mae Bua Kham has really filled out. When she arrived you could see all of her ribs, but now she looks (and sometimes acts) quite a lot younger than her years. She really enjoys wrestling with both Hope and Tong Suk.

Mae Lanna still enjoys a part-time friendship with Tong Suk, but spends most of her time alone. She has adapted quite well to life at the Park, but is spooked easily due to her very limited sight. Both Mae Lanna and Mae Bua Kham have remained solitary since their arrivals, but there is still hope that they may find friendship in the future.

Ele Gossip: Aura Turns Three This Month

The chubby, bursting-with-personality Aura (daughter of beautiful, outgoing Mae Boon) is turning three this month, just a few months behind her friend Tong Jan. Aura and her Mom have been members of the Park herd for just over two years now. They arrived here on a leased basis nine months after Aura was born so both mother and daughter could become healthy and robust. They have adapted quite well to the lifestyle of eating, playing, and socializing that is the Park and both enjoy life to its fullest!

When Aura first arrived she was quite a handful as she hadn't been exposed to any sort of training whatsoever. She was quite the opposite of the well-behaved Tong Jan and we joked that she would be a "bad influence" on her friend. As time progressed and Aura's positive reinforcement training began, she responded to it quite well. Now Aura is a well behaved yet "spunky" calf with lots of character. She enjoys spending time with Pupia's family and is quite comfortable nursing from Mae Toh Koh's breasts. Her mother Mae Boon and auntie Mae Dta Keow have kind of become an extension of Pupia's family, as they all like to spend so much time together. Aura is experiencing a growth spurt at this time and is quickly catching up to the height of Faa Sai. Most likely, Aura will grow up to be as beautiful and well-mannered as her mother.

Ele Gossip: Males in Musth Update

Both Boon Khum (BK) and Khum Minh have just passed the two- month mark in their respective musth periods. BK has spent most of his time alone, with occasional visits from our two junior males (Hope and Tong Suk), but sadly not many of the cows come to spend time with him. At this time he is a bit subdued and quite focused on his food ration when it is feeding time, which makes cleaning the area much easier.

In early march, BK was moved to his new shelter. Moving a bull in musth is always a stressful and potentially dangerous task, but with a group of mahouts working together, they were able to get BK secured in his new home in about one hour's time with a minimal amount of trauma. He has settled in well and is enjoying the shade.

Khum Minh is enjoying the company of multiple visitors, the most frequent being Mae Keow, of course. But often Mae Elu and Mae Bua Tong can be seen in his area, as well as Hope and Tong Suk and even sometimes Mae Boon and Aura. There is obviously something about Khum Minh that is less intimidating (possibly his lack of tusks and shorter stature?) than the older and more impressive BK, that draws the females to him. It could be the pungent and intoxicating scent of temporin that is carried on the breeze when you are downwind from either of the bulls. Could the girls find Khum Minh's scent just a bit sweeter? Both are emitting quite an aroma that even has an effect on some of the more elephant-obsessed staff that resides here!

Sad Times as Pupia and Mom Leave the Park

Everyone who has visited the Park in the last two and a half years probably has had the pleasure of meeting and/or even being kissed by young Pupia, who came here on a leased basis with his Mom when he was approximately one week old. He was one of our positive-reinforcement training stars and was a nicely behaved young elephant who learned a lot while he was here. A whole family group was formed around this young calf and often our newsletters stories would evolve around this diverse, happy family group.

But alas, in the world of leased elephants all good things must come to an end. The fact that they are leased means that they are here on a temporary basis and their owners have no intention of selling them. At some point, they must go back to the real world. This could happen at any time: sometimes they are with us for years, sometimes only for a few months. Pupia was lucky to have a very happy childhood growing up at the Park.

Approximately three weeks ago, his owners called and said they wanted to take Pupia and Mae Toh Koh back to their village for a ceremony that would last 15 days. They said that they would bring them back when the ceremony was finished. We were hopeful but skeptical. Just today we received news that Pupia would not be coming back to the Park, nor would his mother. Sadly, Pupia will be separated from his mother and he will be sent to one of the many training centers to be taught to paint!

As a result of a recent video posted on Youtube of an elephant painting a "self portrait," literally millions of people have become interested in the idea of having a painting done by an elephant, not realizing the cruel training methods that are used to get the animal to perform this activity. The couple that originally recorded the eight minute video of the elephant painting have a website (ExoticWorldGifts.com) where they sell paintings by elephants, among other things. We think they have no idea of the baby elephant exploitation extravaganza that they are creating, or how harmful this is.

Disgustingly, there is lots of money in paintings by elephants. This couple are selling the paintings on their website, making it sound like this is a harmless activity that the elephants enjoy doing. It is very easy for people to buy into this if they don't know the real behind-the-scenes story.

At this point in Thailand, many owners of baby elephants are seeing a big money-making opportunity and are quickly whisking away their calves to train to become "Pachyderm Picassos." We would like to encourage as many people as possible to contact this couple at their website and voice your disgust and disapproval at exploiting elephants with this activity. Please help by contacting Exotic World Gifts and telling them how you feel.

Aura and Mae Boon are also on lease, and at this time Aura's owner is also planning to take her away in the near future to force her to learn to paint as well.

Please spread the word: painting is not a natural activity that an elephant would want to partake in if they could choose by themselves.

Back at the Park, the remaining eles in the Pupia family are having to readjust to the restructure of their family group. The two eles that are having the hardest time are Faa Sai and Sri Nuan. Each day is getting better, but at least once every day, Faa Sai starts running around frantically confused that she can't find Pupia and Mae Toh Koh. She calms down when she finally finds Aura or one of the other family members. She does seem to be getting a bit more nurturing from the older girls than she did before, but she really misses her little buddy Pupia.

Sri Nuan vents her frustration from the loss of her little nephew in a different way. She is sometimes seen throwing a tire around at first seemingly playfully, but then she seems to get a little bit frustrated, and gets a bit more aggressive with the tire. Once another family member approaches her, she also starts to calm down.

Ele Gossip: Mae Lanna and Medo Become Friends

For the past week or so, Mae Lanna (who is 85% blind) and Medo (who is severely handicapped) have been spending all of their time together! All at the Park are very happy to see this friendship blossom, as Medo has been a bit down since the loss of Mae Mai, and Mae Lanna has been solitary for the most part since her arrival. Mae Lanna had started to bond with Jungle Boy, and they were spending much time together for a while, but that relationship ended up cooling off a bit. They are still friends but don't seem to seek each other out.

As of now, all is well as Mae Lanna and Medo seem to have really connected, bathing together in the river, going on their morning walks together, and sharing the same sleeping shelter. They rumble and trumpet and seek each other out for comfort and consolation. It is always lovely to see a loner elephant finally bond with another ele and find confidence in friendship.

Help Us Find Good Homes for Some Park Dogs

Currently we have 48 dogs residing at the Park. Most of our visitors and volunteers are true animal lovers and greatly enjoy the company of our furry four-legged friends, but sadly some people are a bit put off by our dog population.

The fact of the matter is that we are not actively trying to rescue new dogs, nor have we been for the last year or more. But in the valley where the Park is located it has become known that we love animals and will not turn away those in need. As a result, many locals anonymously drop puppies off on the roadside at the Park entrance. Usually these pups are females and not yet weaned and would not make it on their own. We cannot let them die, hence the growing population!

Another phenomenon we are experiencing that is even more interesting is in the past year we have had many healthy, friendly, well-behaved, full-grown adult dogs just show up here out of nowhere, acting like they have been living here for quite some time, integrating into the pack. Once we realize that they are not going anywhere, they are promptly neutered or spayed.

We have started to think the word is out in the "dog grapevine" that the Park is the place to live if you are a dog in this valley – the food is good and there are lots of loving people who are happy to rub your belly, talk about you and even temporarily "adopt" you during their stay at the Park!

Sadly though, it has been decided that there are just too many dogs here at this time. Another piece of land with a river and small waterfall has been purchased. There will be a team of volunteers and staff living there, and 20 dogs from here will be moved to this new site.

Another option for some of these dogs would be adoption. What all dogs want even more than the freedom to run and play is their very own people who will love and pay special attention to them. If you have visited the Park in the past and developed a soft spot in your heart for a dog resident here, don't hesitate to contact us and see if the dog you are interested in is available to adopt. Especially if you live in Thailand or in the US (where there is no quarantine), please consider adopting one of our dogs and giving them a good home.

Copyright © 2008 Elephant Nature Foundation. All rights reserved.