Boon Ma is a Blessing

It is mind-boggling to think that it has been less than ten days since we embarked on one of the most dangerous drives in BLES history to rescue Beautiful Boon Ma.

I have spent every single minute of every single day this past week watching her. I have sat on the ground in the rain, observing her behavior and body language, learning about her likes and dislikes, and I have loved it!

Boon Ma is an absolute joy to watch. She loves diving head-first into the bushes, and it delights her to snap off leafy branches, wave them around once or twice, drop them, and then reach up for another one!
She loves to smack the water with her trunk, blow bubbles, smack the water some more, and then throw mud everywhere!

To sum it up - Boon Ma loves being an elephant!

It did take her a couple of days to fully recover from the arduous journey. Her legs were stiff, and we couldn’t get her to drink. At first, she was reluctant to leave the medical area, and we realized that it probably reminded her of her old stable and that she thought she had to stand in there all day and wait for people to feed her because that is what she had endured for the last thirty years. Even when we opened the doors and encouraged her out, she was nervous about venturing outside. It was sad to see her standing in there, not understanding that she was free to walk out and explore her new home.

We gave her time to figure it all out. We did not rush her, and when she felt strong enough to follow us into the forest, that’s when it happened - that is when she let go of the shadow that she was and became who she always should have been.

That was her rebirth.

The drive with Boon Ma took a total of twelve intense hours. She easily walked onto the truck and patiently stood still on the perfectly placed rubber pad as the mahouts worked quickly to secure the support frame for her.

This is always one of the most stressful parts of any rescue. There is no way of knowing how the elephants will react to the truck if they will trust us, or go berserk. It had been fifteen years since Boon Ma had last been in a truck, and the owners had shared their concerns with us.
When we watched Boon Ma follow the BLES mahouts and calmly walk on to the truck, we all burst in to tears and hugged each other tightly. The owner’s said that they believed Boon Ma knew she was on her way to paradise.

We were engulfed with an air of relief, and I know that hundreds of you, all around the world, held us in your hearts, prayed for us, sent good intentions, and surrounded us with positive energy.

469 people made donations towards the rescue of Boon Ma, and the funds needed to save her were raised in a record-breaking ten days! As a token of our gratitude to every single individual, we decorated the transportation truck with giant signs listing all of your names. I truly believe that wrapping Boon Ma up in your names helped keep her safe throughout the drive.

As we carefully navigated the 672 sharp, steep, and very scary curves and completed our 373-kilometre commute, I was filled with such a sense of pride. My mahouts worked seamlessly, supporting each other and doing everything they could to keep Boon Ma as comfortable as possible.

We finally arrived home close to midnight and were welcomed by the rest of the BLES family, who had stayed behind, with big hugs, some tears, and cheers.

We reversed the transportation truck slowly up to our made-to-measure loading bay, opened the door, and waited with anticipation for Boon Ma to walk herself off the truck and into our quarantine area, where there was the most spectacular, heart-shaped fruit feast waiting for her!

Boon Ma took her time devouring her welcome feast, favoring the sugarcane and corn.

We sat on the floor and silently watched her. Giant tears of relief rolled down our faces as the realization sunk in.

We had done it - Boon Ma was home!

As I write this, Boon Ma is deep out in the forest, with all of our other rescued elephants, freely and peacefully grazing.

So far, she has had several gentle interactions with Pang Noi and Pang Suai, and even our mischievous Mare Ladee has approached Boon Ma, who has had a positive exchange.

The most exciting meeting happened yesterday and was between Boon Ma and The Gossip Girls!! The four of them stood together for an extended length of time, reaching out to each other. Wassana and Lotus protectively placed Pang Dow in between them and led the meet and greet. When Lotus started to flex her muscles, trying to intimidate Boon Ma, Wassana slowly stepped forward, placing herself in the middle, defusing the situation. It felt as if she was eager to connect with our newest arrival.
Eventually, Lotus walked away, and Pang Dow and Wassana followed her. Boon Ma stood still, watching them, trying to make sense of it all, and then she went back to pulling up huge tufts of grass and stuffing them in her mouth!

Nothing seems to startle Boon Ma. She is calm, and it is amazing to see her gaining confidence with each passing day. We are all so excited to see who she will form a close bond with! She is friendly, sweet, and social, so we feel confident she will make friends when she feels ready.

Boon Ma, Wassana, Pang Dow and Lotus meeting for the first time

On behalf of the entire BLES Family, thank you for following Boon Ma’s epic adventure and for falling in love with her - the response to her arrival has been so heartwarming, and all of your messages of congrats mean the absolute world.

Boon Ma’s rescue is a testament that anything is possible when you have the right people supporting you.