Fluffy, a 60-year-old Asian elephant, had spent the majority of her life hauling logs and carrying tourists on her back.
“In the camps Fluffy’s owners were only able to feed her grass and bananas. When she stepped out of her enclosure to explore for the first time she seemed confused. She could smell the grass but hesitated to grab it and break it off to eat.”
Fluffy slowly gained confidence over the next few months as she got used to her new home and new life. She also got to know the other elephants at the sanctuary.
The team at BEES hoped that Fluffy would enjoy many more years of peace and happiness at the sanctuary — but sadly, it wasn’t to be.
Fluffy had been dealing with an arthritic gait as well as a hip problem after her years of hard labor, and it eventually became too much for the older elephant. In late December, Fluffy collapsed and couldn’t get back up.
“Fluffy worked a long hard life in logging and tourism,” a spokesperson for BEES wrote on Facebook. “She worked far too long and was retired after approximately 60 years of work, [and] her body was tired and damaged as a result.”
Fluffy’s time at the sanctuary may have been short, but the BEES team made sure that she would be remembered.
In Buddhism people give offerings to loved ones who have passed away. So this is what the BEES team did for Fluffy — they surrounded her body with offerings of flowers, leafy plants, bananas, melons and other foods that Fluffy liked to eat.
Villagers came by to pay their respects and to pray and light incense around Fluffy’s body. When night came, they covered Fluffy’s body with an orange cloth and lit candles around her.
This isn’t the first time the BEES team gave an elephant a funeral. Last September, a 70-year-old elephant named Mae Mor, who’d also been used — and badly abused — in the tourism industry in Thailand, passed away after spending a few short months at BEES. Like Fluffy, the team gave her offerings of flowers and bananas after her passing.
“Every animal deserves love, dignity, good quality care and freedom,” a spokesperson for BEES wrote on Facebook. “Our hearts ache that Fluffy didn’t get longer with us. It was a privilege and a blessing to know her, she taught us so much.”
BEES