Boon Dwang
Brave Boon Dwang(‘Destiny’) is a beautiful elephant, thought to be in her late forties.
Boon Dwang was the last remaining elephant in a rural hill tribe village, located in Northern Thailand. She spent her days alone, both her front feet in chains, on the edge of a barren forest. and dragged around by a piece of rope, attached to a sharp hook, that was embedded into the back of her ear.
Previously used for logging and then rented out to various camps in Chiang Mai post Covid, Boon Dwang was worn down, depressed and defeated.
Her owners, a large family, knew that the time had come to let Boon Dwang go and do better by her. After having her in their family for almost thirty years, They reached out to BLES for help, knowing that Boon Dwang would finally be free to be an elephant and that they themselves, a poor, hardworking family, would be treated fairly and with respect.
BLES Founder, Katherine Connor jumped straight to it - she started raising the funds needed to secure Boon Dwang’s future and additional funds to support the family and their community, who live without basic infrastructure, namely running water and electricity.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of BLES supporters, The BLES Family was able to donate solar lights, blankets, clothes, sports equipment, toys, games and snacks to the school in Boon Dwang’s village.
The rescue of Boon Dwang was joyous. She walked on to The Green Machine (our elephant transportation truck) with ease and only need some gentle encouragement from her owners and our mahouts.
Once safely secured, Boon Dwang visably relaxed and seemed to enjoy the breezy ride through the hills and bendy roads. The mahouts couldn’t believe how calm and composed Boon Dwang was throughout the ride!
We arrived at BLES just as the sun was beginning to set and Boon Dwang walked off the truck, just as easily as she had walked on to it. No protest, no stress - no problem at all.
Her welcome feast was laid out for her in the quarantine area, but she preferred to slowly walk around the perimeter of the quarantine area first. She walked around, gentle touching and smelling everything, occasionally pausing and then finally, after 45 minutes, she walked over to her fruit feast, stood still and stared at it.
She slowly reached out with her trunk and carefully picked up a piece of papaya, which she placed in her mouth. She held the papaya in her mouth for a few seconds, as if waiting for someone to say something and then when no command came, she decided to go ahead and enjoy the papaya!
It is still early days for Boon Dwang and she hasn’t really shown any interest in socialising with any of our other elephants yet. She is far too busy tearing down every banana tree she comes across and taking long, cooling soaks in the streams running through our property.
She is slow mover, taking her time with life, enjoying her own company and moving at her own pace.
We are so thrilled to be able to welcome Boon Dwang into The BLES Family and are so grateful to every single person - all 572 of you, who changed the narrative and unshackled this brave and beautiful elephant.
Adopt Boon Dwang