When Chaba arrived at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, the baby elephant carefully took in her new surroundings. If she was nervous, she didn’t have to feel that way for long. Before Chaba knew it, another baby elephant, Pyi Mai, was running over to offer a comforting hug by interlocking their trunks.
“They are constantly communicating through vocalizations and touch,” Emmerson said. “If one of the babies wanders away from her friend, the other will immediately call [for her] to come back … The love they show to each other is pure and unconditional. It’s something we can all learn from and so heartwarming to witness.”
Chaba and Pyi Mai both arrived at the sanctuary with their mothers after being rescued from tourist attractions that mistreat the animals. Safe in their new home, the babies now get to live out the rest of their lives in a herd, as they would in the wild, doing all their favorite activities.
“They are both extremely gentle, loving and playful elephants,” Emmerson said. “We lovingly call them ‘double trouble.’ They are inseparable, always playing and getting up to mischief together — just as they should!”
Together forever, neither member of this dynamic duo ever has to feel alone. Each knows that their best friend is always nearby, happy to extend a trunk and offer a hug.