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Medo was put to work at the age of 8. She hauled logs in the mountains
spanning the border region for 4 years, until she was seriously injured
when a heavy log fell on her, breaking her rear left ankle. Unable to
work, 12 year old Medo’s contract with the logging company was
cancelled. The bone never properly set, and even to this day her
original injury is evident. Medo was brought from camp to camp, but no
one was interested in employing a lame elephant.
To get some kind of income out of her, Medo would be made to breed.
They found the largest and strongest bull they could, a big tusker. Medo
was chained by four legs. The huge bull was in musth though, and rather
than simply breeding with her, he savagely attacked her, pinning her on
the ground with his tusk. She screamed in pain but no one would risk
coming close to the musth bull to help her. She tried and tried but
could not stand. She was left lying down, bleeding and crying in agony,
alone. Vets would soon determine that her backbone had become
dislocated.
These injuries were life threatening, and Medo fought for her life
for 3 full years. For the next 15 years Medo spent her life in isolated
and tedious toil. The owners were shameful of her condition and sought
to keep her hidden. No camps would accept an elephant so marred by
abuse.
And so Medo spent her days until the Elephant Nature Park team
finally found her on a Jumbo Express to the Mae Sariang region in Feb
2006; dragging the small logs that she could, in an isolated village in
the mountains. Seeing Medo’s unnatural gate always has an impact, and
there was no question that this working elephant needed rescuing. Lek
immediately set the terms for transferring Medo. Word went out for
funding, and Bert of
Serengeti Foundation immediately responded. Working
with Connie of
Elephant Umbrella Fund, the urgent capital needed to
rescue Medo was quick to arrive. Physically getting Medo from the remote
village to the park was less easy, but she finally arrived in June of
2006.
On arrival, Medo saw other elephants again for the first time in 15
years. Unsure of herself, she had a slow adjustment period, but finally
a strong bond of friendship formed with gentle Mae Mai. Medo’s abscess
from the logging work was treated, and she is taking time wading in the
river to help with her back. Medo’s major physical injuries will likely
never heal, but with hope she can still become a well-adjusted and
social elephant. [news rescue story]
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