Trees for Dok Ngeon
- Photo story: Dok Ngeon enjoys her freedom at the Elephant Nature Park.
- Elephants don’t belong in cities! This was our message on our educational trip with the two street elephants Sri Nuan and Dok Ngeon. This first project by Bring the Elephant Home generated a lot of attention for the fate of street elephants. Please also read the book: ‘The great Elephant Escape’.
- See Dok Ngeon’s photo album.
- Be a foster parent to Dok Ngeon.
- The Elephant Nature Park has a great need for healthy, non-poisonous and varied food. This is why thousands of trees are being planted in and around the park for Dok Ngeon and the more than thirty other elephants being cared for. Help us!
Meeting at the Surin elephant festival
December 2005. In November 2005 I found Dook Ngeon (8 years old) at the elephant festival in Surin. Dok Ngeon looked so stressed: screaming, shaking and rocking her head. Dok Ngeon was in training to learn new tricks, like playing a mouth harmonica. It is clear to see how animal unfriendly this training is, there were a lot of scars and fresh wounds which showed this. Then and there I knew: I needed to help Dok Ngeon. Her mahout told us that she was a begging elephant in Pattaya, but she had to go to Surin to learn the new begging tricks. The next day we went to Dok Ngeon’s village. Her legs were chained up together, in a field without any shade. The mahout told us that he had to chain her like that, otherwise she would eat everything.
Bananas for Dok Ngeon
Thanks to the supporters of Bring the Elephant Home we were able to buy free Dok Ngeon. The chains used to tightly bind her front legs together were taken off for the very last time. We took her to a quiet place by truck, to take care of her. After a bath her injuries became apparent: her entire forehead was infected. Despite her misery she was very sweet. Very gentle and interested in all the attention she was given. Her huge appetite allowed her to get her strength back: entire bags of bananas and melons were consumed.
On the road to freedom
We took Dok Ngeon to the Elephant Nature Park, we she can spend the rest of her life in freedom, away from training and begging in Pataya!
Arrival at the Elephant Nature Park
After arrival Dok Ngeon was scared of all the elephants and people. But Sri Nuan protected Dok Ngeon, made sure she felt save and made sure she was part of the newly formed family. For Dok Ngeon it almost took half a year before she could really enjoy being a juvenile elephant. The first time I saw her playing in the mud bath with the baby elephants my heart was smiling. One job done!
Dok Ngeon protects baby Pupia
November 2006. Last year Dok Ngeon’s spine was protruding. Now her back was nice and round, and her ribs were no longer showing. She was not as fearfull anymore, but nowhere near as playful and cheeky as she should be at her age. Still, she pushed herself in with the other elephants when food was available; she often played with the babies, enjoyed the splattering in the river, and greeted the elephants from the other families. But when Hope and Sri Nuan pushed each other too roughly, she would usually run. At the Elephant Nature Park the elephants are free. If only every elephant in Thailand could live like this!
Dok Ngeon: food!
October 2007. After spending nearly two months in the Netherlands I’m back in Thailand. Of course, I had just had to spend the first few days with the elephants. In two months time a lot can change at the Elephant Nature Park. The most remarkable change being Dok Ngeon’s hormones that had kicked in. And the bulls at the park had definitely noticed. Dook Ngeon was being followed around by Boon Khum, the large one-tusked bull. While I was afraid Dok Ngeon would be scared of so much pushy attention, she came along with him quite interested. They strolled around the park side-by-side. After this initial getting acquainted, she decided to run off with the young, ‘macho’ Pupa. ‘She is only seven!’ I kept telling the mahouts. But at the Elephant Nature Park we let everything run its course.
Douk Ngern with Sri Nuan at the river
March 2008. Dok Ngeon feels more and more confident and independant. She is still close friends with Sri Nuan, with whom she often spends the afternoon at the river. She is still enjoying her role as big sister to Pupia. She loves her family, but now her confidence has grown, and Faa Sai also spends time with Pupia every now and then, Dok Ngeon takes of without her family. Some mornings she goes out for a walk with Mae Boon, Aura and Mae Dta Keow, leaving behind her own family.
Elephant Nature Park
And she is very interested in the male elephants at the park. Late 2007, when Max was in musth, Douk Ngern often visited him in the morning. It is strange to see Dok Ngeon interested in him, since Max is about twice her size. We also spotted Dok Ngeon taking of with Phu Pa every once in a whil, to take a walk without any onlookers. The last couple of weeks she is behaving differently: she doesn’t play as roughly with the babies anymore. It is almost as if she wants to be with the mothers. Could this indicate…
Yes it did, Dok Ngeon became pregnant! She gave birth to a healthy baby boy, at July 12th 2009. Such wonderful news! He is called Chang Yim (smiling elephant) and the first male elephant born in the freedom of Elephant Nature Park. Now Dok Ngeon herself has given birth to an elephant in freedom!
At 4 AM Pom woke me up: “To the elephant shelter, now!”. I could only think about one thing: Dok Ngeon is giving birth! In the dark I run half asleep to Dok Ngeon’s shelter. And I was right awake. Dok Ngeon was rumbling, lot’s of blood on the floor and the other elephants around her were making noise. This wouldn’t take long. Twenty minutes a huge ball appeared below her belly and… plop! A sack fell on the ground, Dok Ngeon immediately took care and a trunk was sticking up in the air!
In a few seconds the baby was crawling on the floor, and some minutes later he was standing on his little feet! Magical, one of the most beautiful things I ever saw! The first hour was a bit scary. The young boy so vulnerable, Dok Ngeon’s first baby, all the pain.
Faa mai, a baby of 2,5 months old, was immediately there with mother Mae Bua Thong following her. Dok Ngeon got nervous and protected her baby. She is doing such a great job! She kept her boy in between her legs, and was showing him her breasts immediately. Chang Yim started to drink, and it looks like Dok Ngeon has lots of milk for him.
Chang Yim is about 100 kg, his height 93 cm, big ears, big strong feet and is trying to make friends with the other elephants already. Dok Ngeon surely feels super proud, she’s over protective and hyperactive. She made noise all day. Finally her own baby.
After so many impressions the baby must be exhausted. But Dok Ngeon doesn’t want him to lie down. Each time the baby is falling asleep on the floor, Dok Ngeon pushes him back on his feet. In the wild this would be too dangerous, Lek explains. This will take a few days. So Chang Yim sleeps standing, each time a few minutes. Both mother and son must be exhausted.
At night they have a camp fire, to keep them warm and against insects, and hopefully they will get some rest. Everything is ok! I’m sure Dok Ngeon will be the best mother an elephant could wish for. So proud of her.
Elephant Nature Park
The park has a great need for healthy, non-poisonous and varied food. This is why thousands of trees are being planted in and around the park. Last year, the local Forestry department of the Thai government provides us with sprigs to fill the nursery. Species of trees indigenous to the area, fast-growing and favoured by the elephants.
Elephant Nature Park
Every week the volunteers are collecting seeds for the nursery, and are planting trees. Many thousands of trees have already been planted in and around the Elephant Nature Park. A great start, but we still have a long way to go. Dok Ngeon, Chang Yim and the other elephants at the Elephant Nature Park need healthy, non-poisonous and varied food. Many more trees will have to be planted. Please help us.
Thanks a lot! Antoinette
