13 February 2012
It has been a long time since I last wrote…. Needless to say, there has been a lot happening and as many of you are already aware I run BLES pretty much on my own! I have had little time for on line work lately as my elephants have needed me to be more hands on with them, administering various medical treatments.
Mee Chok has had an eventful month or so. After he started displaying violent behaviour not only towards his surrogate sister Lom, but other elephants and staff members too, we all decided it was for the best to trim Mee Chok’s long and sharp tusks. This is often done to elephants who are ‘too big for their boots’ to knock their confidence and help them accept where they belong in the hierarchy. After the tusk trim, Mee Chok seemed to calm down and was back to playing with Lom in his boisterous, but non aggressive way. That didn’t last long though! Mee Chok tried his luck and rammed himself as hard as he could into Lom, who shoved him back and started to chase Mee Chok down the path. This resulted in Mee Chok falling and landing on his right tusk.
The vet was called and after long deliberation, it was decided Mee Chok should be sent to the hospital at TECC for an x-ray to check for fractures in the tusk cavity. Mee Chok remained at the hospital for nearly a month and melted the hearts of all the other female elephants there, including an old lady called Boomtha. Boomtha and Mee Chok were inseparable and she didn’t take her eyes off our little heartbreaker once. I was so grateful to her for looking after him and so pleased that they were able to interact and connect, even if it was just for a few weeks. Animals live in the moment and it warms my heart to know they shared many a special moment together… I’m not sure if Pang Tong would have approved though!
Since Mee Chok’s return to BLES, he has needed daily treatments. There is still puss present in the cavity and we need to ensure we are flushing it all out every day. His other wounds caused by the journey to the hospital are taking time to heal and generally Mee Chok is a very good patient. He holds still while the cavity is flushed, with his trunk high in the air and of course I am there feeding him treats non stop!
Lom and Pang Tong were delighted to have their boy back. Lom is such an expressive girl and I could see from her body language how confused she was during Mee Chok’s absence. She would search around for him and call out every now and then and then stand still, as if she was waiting for a response.
Lotus is still having weekly foot baths and her feet are looking visibly better. She is an excellent patient, but then she loves all the attention she gets while in the bath! The cold weather has made her skin slightly dry, so we are giving her full body coconut oil rubs again. That girl has such a personality. She is quirky and has a wicked sense of humour. The other day at breakfast, she wasn’t happy that all the fruit was gone. She stood there, with her head as far into the hut as she could get, with her mouth wide open and when I told her there was nothing left, she acted like she was going to swallow me whole! I had to quickly duck out of her greedy way!
Tong Jai has been in musth, came out of musth, went back into musth, but seems to be over it now. Seedor Yai started musthing last week and has been showing signs of extreme aggression. I always feel so bad for the bulls during this time. It seems cruel of nature to make them go through this intense hormonal change.
Somai has enjoyed having all the ladies to himself lately and has been trying his luck with Pang Noi (yes, again!) but she has refused all his advances.
Pang Suai and Pang Dow now spend most of their time with Wassana and the girls which is lovely to watch. Every now and then Bong Beng tries to dominate Pang Dow, but Pang Dow gently stands firm and reminds Bong Beng that she is the baby in that group. Pang Suai is always there to manage Bong Beng, if she gets out of control, which is a good thing as Wassana is a big softie and lets Tong Yui and Bong Beng get away with murder!
Valentine’s day will mark the second anniversary of Tong Yui and Bong Beng’s rescue. I am very proud that we have been able to keep them from begging on the streets for two whole years. Those two elephants have grown and blossomed during their time here and most of that is thanks to Wassana. I still get such a thrill from watching Bong Beng dig her toe nails into the ground and start kicking up the dirt, so that she can throw it over her back to cool down. I will never forget watching her attempting this for the first time after she saw one of the other elephants doing it. She didn’t know how to use her foot to manipulate the dirt and when she tried to blow the dirt on to her back, she missed completely. Well those days are long gone and she delights in dusting herself down each morning after her shower.
I have to say a very special thank you to Jan Tunks who instigated the rescue of Tong Yui and Bong Beng. It was a long and tough battle which took us 18 months of negotiating, but we got there in the end. I also have to thank everyone who has contributed towards their care and upkeep. We couldn’t give them the freedom we do without your continued support, so on their behalf, I send you a big dust cloud full of heartfelt thanks.
Trunks of love to all our faithful supporters,
Katherine and the elephants xx
