Let us introduce our beautiful rescued elephants. Learn about their personalities, who they are, what they like, and where they came from.
The Thai elephant is the official national animal of Thailand.
The elephants found in Thailand are the Indian elephant, a sub-species of the Asian elephant (Sri Lankan, Indian, Sumatran, and Bornean).
However, Thai elephants have slight differences from other elephants of that sub-species. They are smaller, have shorter front legs, and thicker bodies than their Indian counterparts.
In Thailand, there are an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 elephants. Around half of these are domesticated.
This domestication led to elephants becoming an endangered species in Thailand in 1986.
We are proud to be at the forefront of elephant rescue in Phuket. We have rescued numerous elephants from situations of exploitation and cruelty.
We have designed our range of elephant activities in Phuket around their health, safety, and well-being.
Keep scrolling down to meet our elephants! And if you have any questions for us in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Lotus is named after the beautiful water lily and means ‘บัว’ or ‘Bua’ in Thai and she was the first elephant that we rescued during Covid.
Lotus is female, born in 1977, she is the smallest of our three elephants, and we believe a smaller species of the Asian Elephant originating from the Thai Malay border.
Lotus was giving rides to tourists in the south of Phuket, but during the pandemic she was chained to a tree on a hillside at a riding camp and severely underweight. We thankfully rescued Lotus and gave her all the love and care she needed.
Lotus loves to eat natural vegetation such as napier grass, palm leaves, and banana trees, and she loves to find vines to eat in the forest. We also ensure she has nutrient rich rice balls and her favourite treat which is sugarcane, and today she weighs a healthy 2,500kg.
Lotus loves spending time in the natural ponds and also loves to cover herself in lovely wet mud on a daily basis! She also loves to throw grass and twigs onto her head, find long branches to scratch herself with, and fresh earth to dust herself down. She is also very playful, sometimes throwing around an old tyre or chasing chickens!
We love beautiful Lotus, she’s such a sweet, funny elephant and even though she’s the smallest of our three, she has the biggest personality!
Our elephants eat up to 180kg of food daily which is a lot of food! By sponsoring Lotus, you will be directly helping us to buy a variety of grasses, a selection of her favourite fruit including bananas, pumpkins, pineapple, watermelon, rice ball supplement mix, and nutritional pellets which will keep her happy, healthy and strong.
Bow was born in 1981, she is a beautiful female elephant and the second elephant that we rescued from the same riding camp as Lotus. During the Covid pandemic, Bow was chained to a tree on a hillside for long periods unable to walk and in desperate need of rescue.
Bow was underweight when we rescued her, however, once safely at our sanctuary, we implemented a nutritious diet with natural vegetation including nutrient rich grasses, bananas, and vitamin rice balls, and she’s now a healthy weight of 3,500kg.
Bow is a quieter elephant compared to Lotus and Thonglor. She walks slowly, has a calm but confident personality, she is intelligent, serene, and definitely depicts a ‘gentle giant’. Bow, like all our elephants, loves covering herself from trunk to tail in lovely thick mud. She also loves to head into the forest and devour palm leaves and juicy banana trees, often only see her bottom in the thick foliage!
Our elephants eat up to 180kg of food daily which is a lot of food! By sponsoring Bow, you will be directly helping us to buy a variety of grasses, a selection of her favourite fruit including bananas, pumpkins, pineapple, watermelon, rice ball supplement mix, and nutritional pellets which will keep her happy, healthy and strong.
Bow particularly loves to pull down and eat juicy banana trees so your kind support for Bow’s food supply will also help us plant banana trees around our reserve to ensure we have enough trees for Bow to eat!
We love Bow, she is such a beautiful elephant with a peaceful presence. To see Bow, Lotus and Thonglor live their best lives, shows the importance of rescuing elephants and giving them a peaceful life that elephants truly deserve.
Thonglor is the tallest and most elegant elephant at our sanctuary. Born in 1978, she spent the majority of her life giving rides to tourists in Phuket.
We rescued Thonglor from Buriram in Northeast Thailand during the pandemic. She was chained for long periods and severely underweight but is now safe with us and thankfully will never have to work again.
Thonglor only has 3 teeth left (elephants have 4 teeth (molars) and 6 sets during their lifetime). It is difficult for her to eat hard foods such as branches or sugarcane, so we ensure she has plenty of soft grasses, bananas, and nutrient-rich rice balls, She has slowly gained weight and is looking like a strong, healthy elephant today.
Thonglor is stoic, friendly and wise, and she loves walking around our reserve and is our most active elephant. Perhaps after years with her legs in chains, she loves the freedom she has today. Thonglor loves the mud and often spends half an hour or more covering herself from trunk to tail until we only see a muddy brown elephant!
We love Thonglor, as we do all our elephants, and it’s wonderful to see her making great progress and enjoying her life with us.
Our elephants eat up to 180kg of food daily which is a lot of food! By sponsoring Thonglor, you will be directly helping us to buy a variety of grasses, a selection of her favourite fruit including bananas and nutrient-rich rice ball supplements, which will keep her happy, healthy and strong.