Majestic Mare Noi’s New Life
On the 12th August 2024
World Elephant Day & Mother’s Day here in Thailand,
The BLES Family welcomed Majestic Mare Noi!
After one of the most incredible fundraising efforts in BLES history, the funds needed to rescue Mare Noi were successfully raised in under 24 hours!
Her story touched the hearts of millions of people around the world and inspired a movement of collective kindness.
Mare Noi translates as ‘Little Mother’. An endearing name, tragically tainted with pain, trauma and unimaginable grief.
Ever since she was thought old enough to reproduce, Mare Noi had been repeatedly violated. Chained up by all four legs and forced to stand still while a bull mounted her, against her will, over and over again.
We have no idea how many times she was forced to endure this, but we do know that she fell pregnant a total of three times and that she lost all three of those calves. Two of her pregnancies tragically ended in miscarriage. She was not allowed time to grieve or even heal, but was immediately impregnated again. When she eventually went into labor, she gave birth to a dead calf.
Even when having a break from logging, heavy chains weighed her down.
Mare Noi was a logging elephant, which means she was used to pull, lift and carry, large piles of extremely heavy logs, for several hours a day. Sadly, a lifetime of dragging logs can cause detrimental damage to a female elephant’s reproductive organs, and this is probably one of the reasons why she suffered such devastating loss.
I remember first meeting Mare Noi almost twenty years ago. She was dressed up in gold robes and had a wooden bench strapped to her back. She was being used in a parade and I vividly recall the moment our eyes met. I was brand new to the village then and was still trying to figure out who was who - I remember asking her name, being told her story and I will never forget how crushed I felt for her.
The first time I met Mare Noi - almost 20 years ago.
I stayed in regular contact with Mare Noi and her owners, as I have done with all of the elephants in our local area over the years, supporting them with medical aid and food , whenever possible. When the owner of Mare Noi drove up to BLES to tell me he was eager to sell her and had received a very generous offer from a notorious breeder, I knew I had an urgent situation on my hands. He told me how he wanted Mare Noi to retire and live out the rest of her life with us at BLES, but he needed a very quick transaction and wasn’t sure if I would be able to get the funds together in time.
To say I was stressed, is the understatement of the year!!
I reached out to a friend of mine, who runs an organization in The US called Planting Peace. My friend, Aaron, is involved with many life saving initiatives and one of them is helping elephants in need. We spoke on the phone and to my amazement, Aaron immediately dropped everything and flew to Thailand to join forces with BLES and save Mare Noi!
Aaron was accompanied by his partner in peace, Osh and the one and only Calum Von Moger, who holds the title of Mr Universe 2011, 2014, and 2015!
And there we were, an unlikely group of indviduals, united in our mission to save Mare Noi.
AND SAVE HER WE DID!!!!
Throughout this whirlwind few days, there was one thing keeping me strong and driving me on and that was her, Majestic Mare Noi. Nothing seemed to startle or stress her. Not even the arrival of our Green Machine - our elephant transportation truck, or the fact that half of the village had turned up to wave her off!
She stood like a statue as we unchained her and then walked on to the truck with such ease and grace, it was as if she understood exactly what was happening. We were all blown away with how calm Mare Noi remained as the BLES mahouts secured the support frame around her and then the engine started and we were off!
Our drive through the village to BLES took around 45 minutes. We were greeted throughout the drive with cheers and giant smiles from members of the community and several low hanging branches!!
Once we arrived at BLES, Mare Noi slowly walked off the truck, on to our specially made loading bay and into our quarantine area, where her Welcome Home feast was waiting.
After a few hours of rest, Mare Noi seemed eager to get out and explore. We opened the gates of the quarantine area and she was off! She strutted out, with a spring in her step and started devouring the bushes surrounding her. It was incredible to see her looking so confident and comfortable in her new home, so soon.
Almost two months on from her rescue, Mare Noi has transformed. She is no longer nervous and submissive. She is no longer lonely and sad. Mare Noi is now sassy, social and strong. It is clear to see that she has put her painful past very much behind her. She has freed herself from the shackles of existing in survival mode.
Mare Noi is now thriving. She has made friends with most of our other rescued elephants and every day she takes the time to walk around and socialize with them.
Mare Ladee, Dok Lak, Mare Noi, Pang Noi and Pang Suai is just out of shot.
The friendship that we are most excited about, is the one she has reignited with our stunning Pang Suai. These two girls worked side by side, hauling logs together more than twenty years ago, before Pang Suai was rescued by BLES. Although we knew about their history, we were unsure if they would remember each other or even be pleased to see each other again!
Our questions were soon answered. Pang Suai, closely followed by Pang Noi and ‘Little’ Lom, glided up to Mare Noi’s side and enveloped her up in sisterhood. These gorgeous girls are now a solid group and a testimony to what determination to create change can do.
Pang Suai, Mare Noi and Pang Noi.
Walking beside Mare Noi during her recovery and observing her rebirth, has helped me find peace with my past too. There is something indescribably special about Mare Noi and it is an honor to share this lifetime with her.
Thank you, from the depths of my heart, to each and every single one of you, who played a part in rewriting the narrative for Mare Noi. Because of you, she is now forever free to simply and oh so beautifully, just be an elephant.
WE SAVED MARE NOI!
