Elephant Rescued After 50 Years In Chains

The Dodo

Her chains were so short she could barely move — watch what she does when she's finally free! We talked to her rescuer about the magical moment Kham Phaeng was freed from her chains after 50 years of working for tourists.

Transcript

00:00Poor Kampang, she is on the shortest chains imaginable too.

00:04Her back leg is damaged from this chain.

00:08Look, she can't move.

00:10It was really emotional because I'd never seen an elephant look so battered.

00:15She does this every day for a few times. We threw this in her back.

00:22She's skin and bone and every day that we don't get her out of here is another day that she has to suffer like this.

00:28Because of her condition, we really felt an urgency to get her out as quickly as possible.

00:42We had prepared a second shelter for her.

00:45We had continued to plant some more banana trees.

00:49We were all very excited for her to come.

00:52She's going through a better life now.

00:54After we raised the funds, it was time to take Kampang home.

00:57It was time to save the date because Kampang, we're coming to get you.

01:03We went to the supermarket, loaded up on so much fruit.

01:07Then we all met back together at the camp and led her towards the truck.

01:19She was reluctant to go on. She hadn't been in a truck in a while and she kind of pushed back.

01:27But the minute she got on the truck, her swaying stopped. We were all crying.

01:34She just started eating straight away, completely calm.

01:38It's such a rewarding moment and it's like everything just fell into place.

01:51Then the big moment that she came out.

01:54When Kampang arrived, she got an amazing fruit salad.

01:59Normally an elephant is so distressed, but she was eating all the time. It was so funny.

02:04It's a very, very special moment.

02:07I would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat for her.

02:11She just wanted to be with her sanctuary sisters, Mali and Kamoon, and become friends with them instantly.

02:20They welcomed her quite well.

02:24She's getting used to her more natural life.

02:27She just spends her days roaming around in the forest, eating whatever she likes, taking a mud bath when she likes.

02:34She's getting all the vitamins and minerals that she needs. She is slowly, step by step, gaining some weight.

02:44We are very excited to continue seeing her thrive because every day we see progress.

02:49We are very excited to continue seeing her thrive because every day we see progress.

Category

Transcript

Recommended