Elephants suffer in silence when they are torn from their natural habitat. Far from wildlife, captivity subjects them to living conditions that have little to do with their well-being, including forced labor and insufficient care.
This is the case of grandmother Somboon, an elephant who, after 80 years of hard work in logging and tourism activities, has finally found a well-deserved rest thanks to the intervention of the Save Elephant foundation. “The time has come for grandmother to be well cared for and allowed to rest,” the organization stated.
Somboon, captured when she was a baby, has spent her entire life without knowing what rest is. Day after day she was on her feet, carrying tourists on her back and enduring long days of work. Elephants like Somboon, with ankles weakened by years of standing without proper rest, especially those forced to sleep tied to concrete floors, suffer in unimaginable ways. However, the Save Elephant Foundation, after learning of their plight, decided it was time to take action.
At the end of January, the foundation managed to rescue Somboon, taking her to the Elephant Nature Park sanctuary, where, for the first time in several decades, she was able to lie down and rest as any elephant would in the wild.
From the sanctuary they have recalled that a large number of rescued elegants, who arrive at their new homes with fear, do not trust and can take weeks to lie down. But the old Somboon, tired as she was, soon lay down on a mound of sand prepared especially for her, “sleeping soundly.”
After enjoying his first restful rest, Somboon encountered a small setback because he was not in good health: he had great difficulty getting up. The rescue team quickly and diligently came to his aid, allowing him to get back on his feet with a type of crane. They are using this system every day because the elephant does not have the necessary strength.
Now, at Elephant Nature Park, Grandma Somboon has a long road to healing ahead of her. As the organization has reported, every day she feasts on nutrient-rich foods, enjoys quiet walks and wallows in mudflats, finally leading the dignified and peaceful life she always deserved. “We are excited to see how it progresses,” she said from the sanctuary.
