In Laos, the “land of a million elephants”, you can also actively support the survival of endangered elephants by making a donation or taking on a sponsorship. The Elephant Sanctuary Laos was founded in 2019 by Thai animal rights activist Lek Chailert to provide the elephants rescued here with a safe home and the most natural life possible.
This new sanctuary is located in the beautiful valley of the Nam Young River in the northwest of Sayabouri Province, which borders Thailand. It is embedded in a mountainous, forested landscape with river courses and thus offers elephants ideal conditions as a natural environment. In addition to the gray giants, numerous other rescued animals also find a new home here, including cows, goats, rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, donkeys and turtles.
Like the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, the Elephant Sanctuary Laos is also a member of the Save Elephant Foundation umbrella organization.
Ming
Ming is Mee’s youngest daughter and was born around 2017. She accompanied her mother to work and was the tourist attraction when her mother worked as a riding elephant.
Mee and Ming were both already at the Elephant Sanctuary Laos when their owner decided to separate them without further ado. Ming should have been sold to China and Mee should have returned to work in the timber industry. But both were bought back more or less at the last minute, thanks to a successful fundraiser initiated by activist Aaron Jackson. Now at least Mee and Ming can spend the rest of their lives together as a family, lovingly cared for in a safe environment where people show them lots of love.
Mee
Mee is about 37 years old and the mother of two daughters. The first calf is 14 and Ming, the second calf, is eight years old. Mee had to work wherever there was the most money to be made. Sometimes she did heavy transportation work in the forestry or carried tourists around on her back. Mee and Ming were both already at the Elephant Sanctuary Laos when their owner decided to separate them. Ming should have been sold to China and Mee should have returned to work in the timber industry.
However, both were ransomed more or less at the last minute thanks to a successful fundraiser initiated by activist Aaron Jackson. Now at least Mee and Ming can spend the rest of their lives together as a family, lovingly cared for in a safe environment and experience that there are also people who are kind to them.
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Thai Koon
The elephant cow Thai Koon was born in Laos in 1961. She had a total of two owners. She lived with the first for around 40 years until she was finally sold on. There is no information about whether she has any offspring and how many. Thai Koon had to work with her mother in the timber industry as soon as she was able to walk and had some strength, like almost all elephants in Laos. There were no breaks. Anyone who rested or did not obey quickly enough was beaten. When Thai Koon became weaker, she had to transport tourists on her back as a riding elephant in Luang Prabang.
This hard and strenuous work caused her to suffer severe back pain. In addition, she was forced to take part in festivals and shows for the entertainment of tourists, where she had to perform tricks or transport people on her back. In February 2024, Lek Chailert was able to buy her back from her second owner. Since then, she has been allowed to come to rest at the Elephant Sanctuary Laos and, for the first time in her life, truly behave and live like an elephant.
Bua Baan
Bua Baan was born in 1980 and is also marked by a hard and sad fate. While working in forestry at a young age, she had to transport tree trunks that were far too heavy up and downhill through the jungle. As a result, she suffered a hernia that remained untreated. This was compounded by abuse in forced breeding. When Bua Baan became pregnant for the first time, the calf was born prematurely and she lost her baby after just half a day. Severely traumatized, she still had to continue working. One day, when she was shot at with a slingshot because she was resting a little, a stone hit her in the eye, causing her to go blind.
Four years later, Bua Baan was pregnant again and gave birth to a bull. Although he was allowed to stay with her, he was trained for the annual elephant festival. At the age of just six, the young bull died during training, presumably from the herpes virus. Bua Baan then appeared to be severely traumatized once again. She became increasingly sickly and weak, rendering her useless to her owner. Australian elephant lovers bought her back in December 2023. Since then, the Elephant Sanctuary Laos has been her new home and Bua Baan can finally start to live her life as an elephant.
Thongkoon
Phoon Me, born around 1982, is the first elephant cow to be given a new home at the Elephant Sanctuary Laos. At the age of nine, she had to do hard labor in the timber industry for many years. She later worked as a mount in an elephant camp in Vang Vieng. Shortly afterwards, she had to return to the timber industry for two to three years. She was then employed at a resort near Luang Prabang to transport several tourists several times a day. She soon began to suffer from severe back pain. After an incident in which she ate from a neighbor’s property, she was seriously injured on her right leg. Her wound remained untreated. Phoon Me suffered unbearable pain and was no longer able to work. She was therefore taken back to her home village. It took three years for the wound on her leg to heal. Thanks to Lek Chailert, Phoon Me was finally bought free at the end of August 2018 and has been living in the sanctuary since then, protected and cared for.
Boon Hom
Boon Hom was born in 1980 and is the second elephant cow after Phoon Me to be lovingly taken in by the Elephant Sanctuary Laos. She was also used very early on for work in the timber industry and had to drag and pull heavy tree trunks for years. After she was no longer needed there, she spent many years as a riding elephant at an elephant trekking camp near Luang Prabang. It was here that she met Phoon Me, with whom she has maintained a close friendship ever since. Boon Hom was also abused for forced breeding and suffered further terrible trauma as a result. She gave birth to two calves, both of which were snatched from her after birth and sold to zoos in Japan and Korea. A severe snake bite left Boon Hom so ill that her future new owner ultimately decided against her. It is thanks to Lek Chailert that Boon Hom was also ransomed and has been happily reunited with her friend Phoon Me since the end of July 2019.
Thongkoon
At just 24 years old, the young elephant cow had already undergone two forced inseminations/rapes. Her first baby, a bull, was snatched from her shortly after birth in order to make him submissive for the future as part of the cruel and merciless “Phajaan” training program. He was then sold to Japan. It is believed that Thong Koon suffered considerable psychological distress from this brutal separation, as she began to make sounds reminiscent of deep mental anguish and torment.
Three years later, she was pregnant again. But this time she was unable or unwilling to give birth. Chained up alone under a tree in the jungle, her owner abandoned her to her fate. After two almost unimaginably agonizing weeks, Thong Koon suffered a stillbirth. One can only guess that this event must have left another deep scar on her soul. The severe swelling of her bottom was not treated medically, nor was her inflamed uterus. Despite considerable pain, Thong Koon had to return to work in the timber industry only a short time later. In 2019, she was finally rescued and brought to the Elephant Sanctuary Laos, where she has since been allowed to fulfill her true destiny: to simply be an elephant. She also learned that there are people with love and understanding whom she can trust.
In addition to making a donation or taking out a sponsorship, you also have the opportunity to treat one or more elephants to a lovingly prepared extra fruit buffet or a truck full of melons or bananas.
