Poon Sab, (‘Treasure’) is a thirty year old elephant who was being forced to work long, arduous hours, carrying tourists around on a bench that was tightly strapped to her back. She was typically worked 8 - 10 hours a day, made to walk on burning hot concrete roads and despite being desperately thirsty and hungry, she was never allowed to take a break in the shade, splash herself down or freely graze - she was enslaved into camp life, serving tourists.

I have to admit, it is unbelievable to me that is today’s world there are still people travelling to Thailand who have riding an elephant on their bucket list. There is no excuse for not knowing why this is widely considered one of the cruelest activities. All you have to do is google it and within a split second, you have all the harrowing facts right there in your hand.

We were contacted about Poon Sab when owner reached out, explaining that he needed to sell Poon Sab urgently, so that he could pay back his huge debts and retire. He spoke about feeling guilty and wanting to do better by his elephant. Feeling grateful that he had made the effort tom reach out to us, we were more than happy to save Poon Sab and help him.

I reached out to my good friend, Aaron - the Founder of Planting Peace - a US based foundation, who have helped BLES secure the funds needed for other elephant rescues. Aaron instinctively jumped straight into action and after an incredible joint effort, the funds were successfully raised to save Poon Sab in just a couple of days!

The power we have when we pull together, never fails to impress me. I am always filled with so much anxiety when we are running a fundraiser and thoughts of, ‘what if we don’t raise the funds?’ run around my mind, along with images of the elephants chained up and stressed. Once you have seen it, you cant un see it. It haunts you, especially when you close your eyes and try to block it out.

Running a fundraiser is an emotional experience for me, because I am so deeply invested. I don’t eat, I can’t sleep and I wont rest until that elephant is safely in the arms of BLES.

As soon as the funds were secured for Poon Sab, The BLES Team set off! Nine hours on the road, through the night, in The Green Machine - not the most comfortable way to travel, but our dedicated mahouts will do whatever it takes to help an elephant in need.

We arrived at the camp early morning. Poon Sab was chained up by the side of the road and studied us carefully as we completed safety checks on the truck and signed the paperwork. She seemed calmer that when we first met her, almost as if she understood that we were there to liberate her.

Poon Sab walked on to The Green Machine with ease and needed little persuasion. She stood perfectly still, allowing the mahouts to secure the support frame around her and we fed her fresh watermelon to help keep her distracted and hydrated.

Within no time at all, we were off. The journey home to BLES took a total of twelve hours and Poon Sab remained patient, calm and perfectly still throughout the drive.

When Poon Sab’s feet touched BLES soil, she wasted no time in devouring her welcome fruit feast, which was of course, (as it always is), laid out in a giant heart shape.

Since her arrival to BLES on the 18th February 2025 - Poon Sab has turned her life around 360! She has endless amounts of energy, is so playful and loves to thrash around in every pond, pool and muddy puddle she can find!

It did take her a while to figure out that the forest was her home. You see, before coming to BLES, Poon Sab had never stepped foot in a forest. She had been born in a camp and had spent thirty years living in a camp. Entertaining tourists was second nature to her and all she had ever known.

We are all so proud of Poon Sab and how she has eased into sanctuary life. She is thriving and is an absolute delight to watch.