Elephants in Khao Sok Need Urgent Help

Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary is home to three beautiful elephants. All four of them used to work in poor conditions in trekking and logging. The Sanctuary has been funded from donations and ethical tourist visitations, but with the rise of COVID-19, the elephants have been left to their caretakers, who are struggling to make ends meet. With the previous donations running out, we have about one month’s worth to pay for their food and care. We have set up this Weboon page as it is the only way for us to legally raise funds online in Thailand for our non-profit Sanctuary. 

Meet the Herd

Wassana is our younger girl, and she looks up to the Matriarch, Sinnin, very much. She would be devastated if Sinnin has to go. Although generally loving and friendly, she has a very strong bond with her caretaker, who is a local Mahout - but he left recently as visitors stopped coming to the sanctuary. Like most elephants, she sleeps only 2-3 hours per night, and without her Mahout, she needs to be chained during the night so that she doesn’t run into the nearby street, risking an injury from passing cars. 

Maruay is the latest rescued elephant, and she is 40 years old. Her previous life is marked in the scars all over her body. She was a performing elephant when she was younger at Fantasea, where she was beaten and forced to perform under lights and to huge crowds. When she got to big for that she was put into a trekking camp where she carried tourists around on her back all day. We are delighted and grateful to Maruays sponsor in Hong Kong to have here here with us in Khao Sok, where she can live out the rest of her life in peace, and surrounded by love.

Noi is our 43-year old male elephant and he loves eating sugar cane. He’s very sweet and loved by the Mahouts, but it is natural for him to become restless during musth. When he’s in heat, he becomes dangerous for Mahouts and himself, and we are extremely relieved we could provide a safe enclosure for him. 

What Do We Need Urgently?

Due to COVID-19 and the halt to tourism, the sanctuary is now in dire need. Most of the Mahouts responsible for elephant care have left for more profitable jobs, as we couldn’t afford to pay them enough to stay. We are currently financially supporting the whole family of the only Mahout that agreed to stay with us. We have another Mahour that agreed to help us part-time, but there is too much work in the sanctuary to be handled by two people. 

What Will Your Donations Be Used For?

When you donate to Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary, your funds will be used to support our mission of maintaining the health and well-being of these elephants and hopefully soon to build a full sanctuary. 

A minimum of THB 70,000 (around US$2,250) every month is needed to function. The bare essential operational costs include:

♡ Paying 3 Mahouts a basic salary

♡ Veterinary care

♡ Food for the elephants

♡ Supporting the property

We still need to build a strong fence around the entire property to keep our two female elephants Wassana and Sinnin safe and to live a fully chain-free and peaceful life, too.

What Has Been Done so Far?

COVID-19 required us to take additional measures to ensure we can provide as much support for the elephants as our tight funds allow. Instead of buying food at local markets, we started growing our own pineapples and bananas. But small changes like that don’t reduce our budget significantly. We are also selling locally-grown herbs and any produce unsuitable for elephants to earn more funds and become more self-sufficient.

What Do the Elephants Need for a Better Future?

We are passionate about our elephants and educating people about how important and majestic these animals can be. In the longer term, we would like to focus our efforts on building an educational visitor centre, where we can invite speakers to teach about elephant conservation in Thailand and worldwide. 

We will always remain a locally-run, rustic sanctuary but by increasing the value for visitors, we can attract more people and attention to our cause. While your donations will help keep our elephants in good care, any additional income we may generate from visits will be used on improving the conditions for the elephants even further. For example, we would like to build a canopy walk so guests may observe the elephant’s from the bird's view, seeing their natural behaviours, unaffected by the near presence of humans.

About Our Fundraiser

With the support of businesses in the South-East Asia region, we are able to run this fundraising campaign to raise awareness about our Sanctuary, and the four elephants that we love and want to keep with us desperately. 

Those who wish to support us can do so in the following ways:

♡ Support a one-time donation of any amount

♡ Pledge a monthly donation of any amount

By pledging a monthly donation, we will be able to better sustain our long-term care of the elephants. Regular monthly donations also allow us to prepare and act fast in emergency situations.

Maruay is the recent addition to our herd. She was rescued from a trekking camp but previously worked at Fantasea in Phuket as a performing elephant. She bears the scars of her hard previous life, but we are delighted to have her here with us now, where she will live out the rest of her days in peace in her natural environment. She is settling in so well.

The male elephant enclosure is currently in construction thanks to all of your generous donations! Thank you so much. It is going to be the biggest gift ever to our two beautful boys, they will finally have a chain free safe and peaceful life.