A baby elephant named Chaba was born in an elephant camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her mother performed tricks, cycled, and painted every day for the enjoyment of the public. All these activities were grueling for the animal. Chabu had the same fate waiting for her, but at just the right moment her life changed.

“When our team learned about the plight of Chaba and her mother, BunMa, we went to the camp to see how we could help them,” Ry Emmerson, projects director at Save Elephant Foundation, told The Dodo. “We found the mother and baby in a small concrete pen, barren of any enrichment, and the mother on a short chain. It was immediately clear that they were both in poor health and needed urgent intervention.”

When the Save Elephant Foundation rescue team heard Chaba’s story, they couldn’t remain indifferent. When they got there, they saw a mother and baby girl in a small cage with the mother chained to the bars of the cage. The founder of Save Elephant Foundation negotiated the family’s release and rescued them in August.

“We decided it was safer for them to walk to our sanctuary,” Emmerson said. “After two hours of walking, they arrived at ENP and were welcomed with an elephant cake.”

Without question, the team decided to help Chaba and her mother. Soon they moved the pair to their sanctuary, where mother and baby began living in a spacious enclosure where they were provided with everything they needed.
The staff was most pleased with little Chaba’s reaction to her first-ever bath. She was so happy about the water that she could not hold back her emotions! Now Chaba and her mother are completely safe, they are sensitively cared for and cherished. Thank you to the kind people for their rescue!

“Chaba is a true water baby!” Emmerson said. “She loved splashing around in the water and then running back to Mum for reassurance. Now, she loves to play in the splash pool with her basketball whilst her mum enjoys some tasty fruit treats.

“She loves playing with the water and splashing around,” Save Elephant Foundation wrote on Facebook. “Mom walks away while she is playing and gets a moment to relax. She is growing confident and learning so much.”