Dok Lak
Dok Lak is a beautiful 60 year old female elephant, who has worked most of her life in the tourism camps here in Thailand. Camp life is cruel and causes acute levels of stress for the elephants forced to work there. Tourists, who are desperate for their five minutes of fun, fail to comprehend that for elephants like Dok Lak, life is hell. Often kept on extremely short chains, beaten and starved, these elephants are exploited and exhausted.
Dok Lak was eventually retired by her owners in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the world. Her owners recognised that she was slowing down and getting too old to work. They had followed BLES for years and watched as other elderly elephants were retired and then reborn, as they lived out their final years in true sanctuary and felt compelled to do the right thing by Dok Lak. They reached out to BLES Founder, Katherine and asked for her help.
When the Covid pandemic turned from weeks, to months, to years, the owners of Dok Lak approached Katherine again - this time about another elephant.
Mare Ladee was also working in a very touristy area and was forced to work long and strenuous days. When the camp that she was performing in was forced to shut down due to the pandemic, the owners had no choice but bring her back to their village in Eastern Thailand and keep her tied up in a stable with Dok Lak.
They were reluctant to do this, because the two elephants did not get along. Chained up side by side, in the camp, Dok Lak and Mare Ladee would often take out their frustration on each other. They would lash out, butt heads and constantly challenge each other.
The sudden closure of the camp left the owners with no other choice - they had to bring Mare Ladee to their home and reunite her with Dok Lak.
After a few weeks, the owners noticed that the two elephants had relaxed and seemed comfortable in each other’s company. A few months on, Dok Lak and Mare Ladee had put all their differences behind them and were finally learning to like each other. It would seem that without the constant pressure of camp life, these two girls were discovering themselves and falling in love with each other.
Dok Lak and Mare Ladee were together, but their living conditions were far from perfect. The owners tried their best and believed they would be able to provide a decent life for the girls. However, due to the global crisis and huge loss of income, the owners struggled and could no longer afford to keep their elephants.
The owners loved their elephants very much and were heartbroken that they could no longer provide for them. Times were tough. Money was non existent and they were unable to release the girls from their short chains, due to living in the middle a highly populated and cultivated village. Dok Lak and Mare Ladee couldn’t go for walks - not even short ones, due to the risk of them damaging crop fields and the local farmers demanding financial compensation.
So, there they stood, day in, day out, in their shelter, chained to the spot. They were bored, but at least they had each other to lean on.
When the owners introduced Katherine to Mare Ladee and told her the story of how the two elephants had developed a close bond, on the back on the pandemic, Katherine knew in her heart that the duo could not be separated. Without hesitation, Katherine agreed to take on both Dok Lak and Mare Ladee.
After an epic fundraising campaign, BLES was eventually able to successfully relocate Dok Lak and Mare Ladee to BLES in January 2023.
Since their arrival, Dok Lak and Mare Ladee have blossomed into confident, sassy and very noisy girls! We have nicknamed them our ‘Leading Ladies’ and watching them relearn behaviours such as dusting and foraging has been nothing short of enchanting.
The two of them are now inseparable. They are always within touching distance of each other and they can often be seen giving each other little kisses. They are vocal and dramatic - there is never a dull moment when these two are around!
We are immensely proud of these two beautiful girls and wish to thank every single person who played a part in making their rescue possible.
