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Khum Min is a medium sized bull whose name means ‘ten thousand gold’.
Although his exact age is uncertain, Khum Min is estimated to have been
born around 1963. He has a wide, rather round stomach, is not very tall,
and does not have any tusks. While he is generally very gentle, Khum Min
can become quite aggressive when in ‘musth’ – a periodic state of
heightened aggression for healthy adult males.
In his younger days, Khum Min worked double jobs in tourist trekking
and logging, lasting about 15 years. It is most likely that he carried
tourists by day and logs by night – a fate common to a sizable number of
elephants. Eventually he was sold to a camp near the park for full time
trekking – carrying tourists on his back through the jungle. He was
worked so hard that he fell into ill health with serious back problems.
A problem for many trekking elephants is the wooden chair where the
tourists sit. Despite some information to the contrary, this is not
actually a traditional elephant seat. In Burma still today, one can find
the layers of softened tree bark and a smaller wooden unit that is
traditional to logging elephants. The chairs used now in tourist camps
are not anatomically designed, and place the tourists’ combined weight
onto the curved spine of the elephant. Elephants would more naturally
bare weight with their necks, tusks, or trunks. In Khum Min’s case, the
chronic pressure from the seat on his back lead to severe infection. In
early 2003, his mahout could no longer allow him to work.
The infection on Khum Min’s back was so bad that it became apparent
to his mahout that he would no longer be of use for trekking. Later in
2003 his owner approached Elephant Nature Park looking to sell. Lek was
in contact with Bert Von Roemer of Serengeti Foundation USA, and, with
his help the necessary funds were secured. Khum Min arrived at his new
home in August of 2003.
When he first arrived, in addition to the infected lump on his back,
he also had an infection in his feet and where his tushes (small tusks)
had broken off. Khum Min recovered from his injuries approximately 6 to
7 months after he came to the park, and is now a healthy elephant.
Perhaps one of the best indicators of his recovery is a recent period of
musth that lasted for 8 months. Khum Min is now living out his days at
the park, free from the back injuring work of the past.
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