For most of their lives, Boonme and Buabaan knew only hard work, chains, and exhaustion.
Boonme, an 80-year-old elephant, and Buabaan, 50, had spent decades working in Thailand’s forestry and elephant-trekking industries. They were forced to carry tourists and perform exhausting labor, often remaining chained when they weren’t working.
After so many years of hardship, however, their lives finally took an extraordinary turn.
Canadian filmmaker and YouTube creator Christian Leblanc played an important role in helping raise the funds needed to secure their release. After the money was raised, the two elephants were finally given the opportunity to leave their life of forced labor behind.
Their new home couldn’t be more different.
Instead of carrying people on their backs every day, Boonme and Buabaan can now spend their days doing something they were rarely allowed to do before — simply being elephants.
They splash through the water, roll around in the mud, and enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables in a spacious sanctuary yard complete with a river and mud bath.
They have even made a new friend named BaiCha, and the three elephants have reportedly become inseparable.
The contrast is heartbreaking: these gentle giants once spent their days giving rides to tourists, but now they are free to play, eat, explore, and rest whenever they want.
After decades of being treated as working animals, Boonme and Buabaan finally have something they were denied for most of their lives — time to simply enjoy being free. ❤️