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Born in mid 2003, Faa Sai was found at the Surin Elephant
Round-up in November of 2007. She arrived at Elephant Nature
Park to begin her new life, days after the festival ended,
thanks to the many generous people who answered Lek's emergency
plea for help to raise the funds to buy Faa Sai. Her name means
"clear sky" and Lek gave her this name because starting her new
life at Elephant Nature Park was like a clear sky after the
storm of her abusive past. When Lek and the crew of volunteers
who accompanied her first saw Faa Sai, she was in a terrible
state. Her eyes were squeezed shut and tears flowed down her
cheeks.
She had fresh scars all over the top of her head and around
her ears, especially behind the ears. She was handcuffed so that
there was no chain space between her two front legs. Faa Sai was
thrashing around frantically, trying to break free of her bonds.
Lek immediately felt that she couldn't leave Surin without this
young elephant in distress, and the group of volunteers
wholeheartedly agreed. Faa Sai is a perfect example of how the
phajaan torture training and secondary training to learn circus
type tricks can actually back-fire and cause an elephant to
rebel from so much training. They become an uncooperative and
unpredictable elephant who can end up being very dangerous. It
is very fortunate for Faa Sai that she was rescued when she was
so she did not have to continue on down a road paved with
cruelty and exploitation and end up injuring someone. During the
journey from Surin to the Park, with volunteers riding in the
back of the truck to comfort her, Faa Sai must have started to
realize that her life was making a change for the better. By the
time she reached the Park her eyes were open and didn't look so
irritated. As soon as she got down from the truck, she looked
out at the green grasses and elephants grazing in the distance
and immediately ran out to introduce herself and figure out
where she would fit in.
Faa Sai was so used to having hobbles or handcuffs on her
front legs, she didn't know how to walk properly, and didn't
bend her front legs at the wrist. She was very thin, her spine
was prominent and her legs looked extra long. Faa Sai has scar
tissue on the lenses of both eyes which causes her vision to be
cloudy and indistinct. With proper care and medication this
affliction can be remedied. As the days passed, Faa Sai
desperately tried to find her way in to a family group or at
least acquire a nurturing auntie. First she tried Mae Boon,
Aura's mom who wasn't interested in taking on an adopted niece.
Faa Sai then joined the Pupia family group, where she was quite
happy and really became attached to Pupia and his mother, Mae
Toh Koh. Sadly, this pair were here on a leased basis and were
not permanent residents. Only months after Faa Sai felt
comfortable, Pupia and his mother were taken back by their
owners. Faa Sai followed around Mae Boon and Aura for a while
after this, but finally ended up as an adopted big sister to
Tong Jan and became a permanent member of her family group. This
has been a very positive change in Faa Sai's life, as the Tong
Jan family is very stable and all of the members are permanent
residents. Faa Sai has grown quite attached to Tong Jan and is
growing into a healthy, robust, socially well adjusted elephant. |
