Mae Kham Sai

Mae Kham Sai is thought to be born in 1970. She was known as the Purple Elephant when she first arrived at Elephant Nature Park, due to the vast amounts of gentian violet, a purple antiseptic, needed to cover her many sores and wounds. This was in June of 2004.

The mahouts first saw her on their way to go cut grass and told Lek how bad she looked. Kham Sai was in a dreadful state. When Lek went to see her she was so weak she could barely lift her feet or keep her eyes open. The skin of her whole body was cracked and infected, with puss pouring from open wounds. Her owners said they would have to wait for two days for a vet to come. Lek felt sure Mae Kham Sai was too ill to wait that long and offered them a place at the park and food to eat.

Mae Kham Sai was so hungry that she ate all the food provided instantly. She was washed and her wounds treated. She stayed for a few days before being hospitalized. The infection showing itself with caked-on puss and scabs had first started in her feet from cracked nails. With no prompt treatment, it spread to her entire body, internally and externally. She was in desperate shape when she finally received medical care.

Once healed, her owners took her back to a life of trekking. Not willing to give up on her, Lek followed her movements, hoping for an option to buy her in the future. A year later Mae Kham Sai once again came to Elephant Nature Park, but this time to stay forever. The Elephant Umbrella Fund of USA provided the funds for her rescue.

No longer purple, Mae Kham Sai can be identified by her blindness in one eye from a crop-raiding incident. She got loose from her chain one night and wandered into a farmer’s field. Her mahout found her the next morning with a bloody eye socket. This mature female does not have a social group, an indication that she has not yet fully recovered psychologically. Decades of abuse have left their mark on Kham Sai’s body, yet her deepest scars remain unseen. Park staff are hopeful that a friendship will develop between her and other herd members where some progress has been seen. Meanwhile she will be nurtured with love and care at the Elephant Nature Park. She will never be hungry, her body is healed, and time will be given for her spirit to recover.

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