Thailand is considered home to approximately 15% of the 52,000 Asian elephants currently living in the wild. Unfortunately, countless of these animals are suffering from physical and psychological injuries caused by people who once illegally stole them from the wild and then kept them enslaved in horrible conditions.
An elderly elephant named SomBoon was taken from her wild environment when she was just a little baby. She spent 80 years working in the logging and tourism industries, but thankfully, the elephant was found and rescued by Save Elephant Foundation.
The woman explained that the poor elephant was forced to serve in the logging and tourist industries for many decades and still spends all day every day on her feet, carrying tourists on her back.
When the exhausted animal finally arrived to the Elephant Nature Park sanctuary, she was in a truly horrible condition: skinny, missing teeth, and suffering from dry, scaly skin. Yet despite it all, it seemed that SomBoon knew she was finally safe.
However, elderly elephant SomBoon defied the norm. After a tiring journey and a lifetime of incredibly heavy hardship, she promptly sought the sand pile that was prepared for her to be able to finally rest and sleep.
“After an hour of deep slumber, SomBoon attempted to rise but couldn’t, inducing panic,” the sanctuary shared. “Our Mahout team and critical care staff swiftly aided her, helping her regain the ability to stand,” they added.
Despite still having a long healing journey ahead, the elephant is already feeling much better. Her rescuers are thrilled, because SomBoon is finally surrounded by love, getting nutritious meals, taking leisurely walks, and having lots of mud baths.
Elephant Nature Park, an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center, is located in Northern Thailand, where anyone can visit the place and volunteer to help.