Sad News, our old granny elephant, Mae Thai passed away.
Mae Thai – The beautiful caring elephant that gave her love to the herd has passed away !!
To dear friends, we have sad news to share. This morning at 6:20 am our old granny elephant, Mae Thai passed away peacefully. Her mahout, Patee, stayed with her through the night, as we thought that she might be leaving us, and was with her at the last minute.
Thai was rescued in 2002 from a life of street begging at that time by Ele-Aid charity, and brought to stay at our project since then. She was the most incredible long term and loyal nanny. She cared for so many baby elephants at our place. Her beloved adopted baby was Thong Jaan. Dok Mai had a special affection for her great grand nanny too, squeezing through the shelter posts to visit and even sleep with Mae Thai. Even last night, she was very curious to know about her special nanny, entering the room repeatedly to see what was going on, as doctors and others were busy caring for Mae Thai.
For the last couple of months, Mae Thai showed signs of tiring and she would walk only a couple of steps outside of her shelter. She hasn’t followed the herd for awhile, but waited for them around her shelter and day hut. Often her young loved ones would run to visit her during the day. For the last couple of days, she did not want to move out of her shelter. We fed her there, though she would eat little, and the medical team also gave fluid therapy. Yesterday, she lay down and slept for a very long time. When we thought it time to get up, it was clear with a small effort, that she was unwilling to stand. We stayed around her, knowing soon would be her time.
Thai is one of our legends, and one of our first group to stay with us at ENP. She is our family. This morning we held a respect ceremony for her to say goodbye and to thank her for so many beautiful moments with us and our herd. We have loved her dearly and she will be with us for ever.
