Elephant Update

Hello everyone from all the volunteers and staff up in the village of Huay Pakoot. Here’s an update on the elephants’ progress in our forest reintroduction programme. This week our wonderful herd of 5 elephants spent a lot of time foraging in the forest and socializing. During data collection we have been paying special attention to foraging and taking pictures of what the elephants are eating so that later we can compile the photos and data and properly identify the different plants.

|Photo by Azriel Cohen|

This week, Thong Dee, Mana, and Boon Jan have been busy tearing down trees and eating the roots, although sometimes they seem to knock over trees just for the fun of it! We have also observed a significant amount of bark eating and today we observed little Bpee Mai eating bark that Thong Dee had ripped off a tree. It seems we’ve documented a case of our little bull learning what to eat in the forest from the oldest elephant of the herd. Also, Bpee Mai and Song Kran have been very playful with each other and doing a lot of pushing and shoving. It is important for the babies to play together because it prepares them for adulthood and breeding.

Elephant Update