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Ahsii was rescued from a small Karen village in Chiang Rai
called Ruam Mit, where he worked at a Karen-owned trekking camp for
approximately 27 years. His owner claimed that Ahsii has been in his
family since a very young age. During his logging career he moved
many places to work with his owner, as far away as Laos. At some
point his back legs were injured in a work related accident and his
career skidding logs came to an early end. After this his owners
settled in Ruam Mit where he began his trekking career. He has had
the same mahout, who was part of the family who owned him for the
past 27 years. In the village he was known as a gentle,
well-mannered bull with a good personality. Because Ahsii had been
around so long and was so well-known, when it was time for him to
leave, all of the Karen women from the village came out to bid him
farewell and many shed a tear, sad to see him leave despite the fact
that he was heading for sanctuary.
Ahsii's owner decided to sell him because he felt that Ahsii was
getting old and because of the injury, he was no longer suitable for
work. The owner wanted to give Ahsii a rest, but whenever he stopped
working Ahsii, the bull would fall into musth. Many owners don't
want to deal with the stress of a musth bull, so Ahsii was worked
constantly and as a result was weak, run down and quite thin, with
all of his ribs showing and muscle wasting in his legs. He was in
desperate need of a well-deserved rest. Arriving at the Park must
have seemed like a dream come true for Ahsii. He took in all of the
smells which included the scent of the female residents of ENP, who
had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of an adult bull whose
presence would help to put things back in order.
Getting so much female attention was a bit overwhelming for Ahsii
and caused his testosterone to surge a bit, despite his weakened
state. Within hours of his arrival he acquired an ardent admirer,
the lovely Mae Lanna (the best friend of Medo). Getting constant
attention from two younger ladies must do wonders for a weary bull's
morale. No longer a working elephant, Ahsii should return to his
former majestic glory in no time. Once Ahsii does regain his health
and vitality, he will have much work to do: schooling the
pre-adolescent bulls Hope and Tong Suk as well as courting the
females in need of the attentions of an adult bull.
When funds permit we will make an offer for the elephant and
these negotiations can take days, months or even years. Sometimes
the price demanded increases and leaves us in a position where we
are unable to secure the release of the elephant.
*Records and official
documentation of elephants of more than 10 years ago are sketchy at
best. The dates we use are our best estimates.
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