Lom (Umbrella in Thai) was the life and soul of the BLES family. Since her arrival at BLES in July 2006, she enchanted everyone with her bouncy, bubbly, and boisterous ways.

Lom’s early life began on the streets of Chiang Mai where she was forced to beg. The evidence of her struggles from that time remained evident throughout her life. Scars visable from endless hours of being dragged through the streets by her ears and legs and being shot at from behind with an air gun.

BLES Founder Katherine and her late husband Anon, discovered Lom while searching for another baby elephant that they’d been notified of by the local police. Life on the streets for this particular calf was caustic. By the time Katherine and Anon found him, he had already succumbed and sadly passed away. However, the search led them to find another young calf working on the streets. The calf was skinny, filthy, and visibly distressed with sugar cane piled on her back for tourists to purchase. If sales were not made, the little elephant did not eat. Disoriented and undernourished, there was no question that she was in a critical state. Katherine e-mailed pictures with details to everyone she knew and requested advice from fellow elephant-welfare organizations.

Desperate not to lose the little elephant, Anon set up teams of people to scout the major cities. When a credible sighting was reported, Anon drove the four hours to Chiang Mai and Lom was quickly transported to BLES.

Lom’s adjustment to BLES was slow and strenuous for both the humans and elephants. Due to her life on the streets, she lacked basic survival skills. Not only was she unable to select which grasses to eat, she had no experience eating grass and instead grabbed for trash and plastic bags. In response to the abuse she suffered, she exhibited panic, unpredictable reactions, and repelled from touch. Running water and loud noises terrified her. When released to graze with the other elephants, she’d run away in fear.

Lom’s gradual transformation to a fully socialized member of the herd was a credit to the talent of the mahouts and the guidance she received from our late matriarch, Pang Tong, who was the birth mother of Boon Lott, the inspiration behind the creation of BLES.

Lom became the calf that Pang Tong lost; Pang Tong became the mother that Lom had never known. The two of them were inseparable until the devastating day of Pang Tong’s passing.

After Pang Tong’s passing, Lom found sisterhood with Pang Suai and Pang Now and was affectionately known as the third Floozie.

Our ‘Little’ Lom sadly and suddenly passed away on the 19th November 2024. Her unexpected death has left a huge void that will never, ever be filled.