Kammoon
Age: 80-85 years old
Meaning of name: a name for people in Isaan (north-eastern) language
Personality:
She is a brave and independent female, and is a great support for Malee. She can be naughty, and likes to challenge her mahout. You do NOT get in the way between Kammoon and her food. Kammoon loves to sleep, and as she is getting older she started to take little daytime naps.
History:
To our knowledge she has not had any babies. She came from Isaan and was rented out by her owner, mainly to be a begging elephant.
Distinguishing features:
Kammoon is a short and chubby elephant, and you will always spot her eating. She weighs an impressive 3500 kilograms. She has big, curtain like ears with many pink spots (due to old age) and has a round body and head.
Malee
Age: 85-90 years old
Meaning of name: Jasmin
Personality:
Malee is a kind and gentle elephant who relies on Kammoon for support. Unlike Kammoon, she takes her time eating and picks out the best parts. She is shy and reserved. She enjoys holding and swishing around a branch in her trunk.
History:
Malee has had babies in the past, though we do not know their whereabouts. She was logging in Thailand when a log hit her and she fractured her left rear leg. Her owner found her in Kanchanaburi province. She injured her left rear leg while logging. Malee has no teeth anymore.
Distinguishing features:
Malee is a tall and skinny elephant that weighs approximately 2450 kilograms. You will often spot her with a branch in her trunk, and with her hind legs crossed. The latter is due to the injury she sustained in the logging industry.
Kham Phaeng
Age: 60+ (we think she is on the older side)
Meaning of name: Cherished/Beloved one
Kham Phaeng was rescued from a trekking camp on the 12th of December 2023
Personality:
Kham Phaeng is a very curious and calm elephant. She loves walking around to discover the area, is very playful and has an independent spirit. Even though she has some problems with her hips, she walks very fast and her mahout has trouble keeping up! Before coming she had never been in a river and therefore was scared to bathe during her first month, but nowadays feels confident enough to go in by herself. Kham Phaeng loves foraging on a variety of plants from our land.
After around 2-3 months she started becoming friend with Malee and Kammoon.
History:
Kham Phaeng used to be a riding elephant in a trekking camp in Pattaya. She was chained up on one front leg and one rear leg, on 15CM chains and could not have physical contact with the other elephants in the camp. At least for the past 10 years, she was never able to sleep lying down and was unchained only when visitors would ride her back. The whole day she was waiting with the heavy chair on her back and was hosed down once a day with the chair still on her back.
Kham Phaeng has strongly associated tourists with food, but the more time she spends here, the more she understands that she does not rely on them for her meals.
She used to eat very sharp pineapple trees which made her throat swollen and damaged. This is commonly fed to elephants because it is cheap, but it can kill an elephant after 10 years. We hope she has no lasting damage.
When she arrived, she was very traumatized and underfed. She is slowly recovering and can now enjoy her newfound freedom.
Distinguishing features:
Kham Phaeng is a kind, tall and skinny elephant with an imposing skull and is missing one eye. She has a kind face and long legs that allow her to walk very fast. Her tail is long and full of hair. It’s incredible to watch her enjoy her new life.
