The elephant, who is roughly 60 years old or older, had only been leased to Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in Sukhothai, Thailand, where he rubbed trunks with new friends who had also just been rescued from the industry. Nwon’s owner wanted to let Nwon retire because he could not afford to keep him – but he still technically owned him.
Then, one day in elephant paradise, Nwon was loaded onto a truck again and driven away. A new opportunity presented itself to Nwon’s owner, and the elderly Nwon was to experience a whole new kind of exploitation.
He went to a camp in Surin where he was forced to give rides to tourists.
“Right now, as I type this post, Nwon has a chair strapped to his back and he is being forced to carry tourists around,” BLES wrote. “Nwon is without question, confused, frightened and stressed.”
For weeks, he lived his old, sad life, working all day in the sun. Little did he know, rescuers were rallying to get him back. The people at BLES started a fundraising campaign to buy Nwon’s freedom for good.
“Nwon has remained calm throughout the journey and we are very nearly home now,” BLES wrote in an update on Tuesday.
He even seemed a little excited as the dawn broke and the truck came closer. He lifted his trunk to smell the air.
“As we drove up the road towards BLES, Nwon lifted his trunk as high as the rising morning sun,” BLES wrote. “[H]e was smelling the air and purring, as if he knew he was home.”