Ele Bios

Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary

Our Elephants

Somkid

Somkid was born on August 9, 1967. Her past is a story of hardship, isolation, and uncertainty. For decades she worked in the logging industry as well as providing elephant rides at a trekking camp. When Somkid was rescued, her feet and nails were in very bad condition as a result of walking on the hard, burning hot roads.

Thankfully, those years of struggle are behind her now. She has begun a new life at Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary with her friend, Thangthai and little Frank, for whom she happily plays the role of nanny. One of Somkid’s distinguishing features is a prominent tear on her left ear.

Thangthai

Born in 1978, Thangthai’s birth date is uncertain. When she was rescued, Thangthai was very thin and had wounds to her head from being beaten with a bullhook by her former mahout. Prior to finding a caring home at Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary, Thangthai worked long hours on the island of Koh Chang where she was forced to give rides to tourists. Carrying such heavy loads under the blazing sun was highly stressful and resulted in malnutrition and dehydration.

With another mature female for a friend and having the pleasure of being a nanny for Frank, a bright new chapter in her life has begun.

Frank

Frank was born on August 2, 2014, and is the youngster of the herd. His life got off to an unfortunate start, begging for food on the streets with his mahout day and night. Separated from his mother and forced to walk the hot noisy roads was a traumatic experience and took a toll on him both physically and psychologically.

Since his rescue, Frank’s life has taken a major turn for the better. Now he lives in natural surroundings, free to wander with earth under his feet, take mud baths, and swim in the pool. He is no longer alone and receives lots of support and affection from his two lovely nannies, Somkid and Thangthai.

Support Our Elephants

The Covid-19 pandemic caused severe challenges around the world and placed extreme restrictions on travel. As a result, Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary was closed from March 2020 for almost 2 years. We would like to thank everyone who supported the elephants at Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary during this time. If you would like to help buy food for our elephants, any gift would be greatly appreciated.

We’d like to thank Trunks Up and Save Elephant Foundation for the support they provided to the elephants at Pattaya Elephant Sanctuary during the Covid crisis.