Amid all the stressful and terrible events happening in the world, I was delighted to learn about the recent rescue of an elephant named Mare Noi. For 41 long years, the gorgeous elephant had been chained up and forced to pull hundreds of trees every day for the logging industry in Thailand.
Mare Noi, an elephant in her mid-40s, was rescued through a joint effort by Planting Peace and Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES), which sent a giant truck to pick her up. The video that recounts her story reveals the moment she arrives at the sanctuary, where she's excitedly greeted by many of the dogs who live on the 400 acres along with many other rescue animals. The sanctuary welcomed Mare Noi with a giant smorgasbord of fruits and veggies laid out in the cutest heart shape. After her feast, she wandered around the acreage and explored her new home, getting to know all of her new family members and shedding her anxiety with each passing hour. She even had a reunion with an old elephant friend who had been previously rescued from the logging industry — and, living up to the old adage about elephants never forgetting, the two precious pachyderms definitely remembered each other! I can only imagine how comforting it must have felt to Mare Noi to have an old friend in her new home.
The mission of Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) is to "rescue and protect the elephants of Thailand from abuse and ultimate extinction." They further explain that they provide a safe home to rescued elephants, with a focus on helping them relearn survival and social skills (like foraging, digging, grazing, swimming, and scratching) in a safe and natural environment, which can allow them to "rediscover their true identity as elephants." They also provide support for local elephant owners who need help caring for their animals.
Planting Peace is a global non-profit "founded for the purpose of spreading peace in a hurting world." One of their many humanitarian and environmental initiatives involves rescuing "enslaved, abused, or starving elephants" from the logging and tourism industries and rehoming them in safe animal reservations.
Thank you to both organizations for helping Mare Noi finally be able to live her life free from forced labor, and for all of the other animals you're committed to rescuing and taking good care of! Sadly, thousands more elephants like Mare Noi are in need of help, but thankfully Planting Peace and BLES have the goal of rescuing at least one elephant a month.
Learn more about BLES at their website or Facebook page, and learn more about Mare Noi here and the other elephants at the sanctuary here. And learn more about Planting Peace at their website or Facebook page.
Previously:
• Elephants evolving to be born without tusks thanks to ruthless poachers
• Alert circle: San Diego Zoo elephants show off their earthquake defense superpowers
• African elephants are on a first name basis with each other
