The will to live: Ponsawan’s story

On 30 August 2011, we were called to help from an elephant owner who had taken his elephant to work at the logging area along Thailand and Burma border, and his elephant had been terribly injured by a landmine explosive. The poor elephant name Ponsawan, age 18 years old, who had been injured in the deep jungle while she walked to work. She stood on the landmine and the explosive tore her foot apart. She had to walk almost a week from the steep hill and muddy rain to the main street to get the transport and for her owner to call us to help. She had to walk with the huge injury, and take so much time to reach the main road. At first, we found her condition so very weak and her foot rotten and infected. Our vet together with the vet from government hospital at Thai Elephant Conservation center took her to surgery at hospital .

For more that two years under the treatment of the vet team at Thai Elephant Conservation Center at Lampang , Ponsawan received care from Doctor Sittideth and his team. Ponsawn today has mostly healed from her injury. It is time to come home to meet her new family and start to heal her mentally . We will make sure that this beautiful brave girl will be living at ENP with love , safe and freedom as she deserves and she fights and has the will to live. Thanks to Davey Lamont , Nicola Beaumont to participate to help fund her rescue. Special thanks to Zaw Pe Doh, the mahout who spent from day one with Ponsawan at the hospital which is far away from his family but he wanted to make sure that she is comforted when she needs someone to hug her trunk during the surgery . Zaw Pe Doh always is with her . Today both of them come back home and we would like to share the happy story to you.