Meet Kabu, an elephant in Thailand who was rescued in 2017 after years of abuse and poor conditions.
For more than 20 years, Kabu worked in a mountain village, hauling logs along steep roads. Forced to continue working with an injured leg, she eventually developed a debilitating limp as the injury failed to heal properly. But that did not prevent her owner from riding on her back.
And that’s not all. Kabu lost her two children while they were still young, according to Lek Chailert, who runs the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai and secured her release.
One was sold to a tourist camp and the other died during a “training crush” — a cruel process which often involves beating and restricting young elephants in cages to domesticate them for work.
Chailert and a group of volunteers traveled to the village to take her back to the Elephant Nature Park, a well-known sanctuary for abused elephants in Thailand. During the 12-hour truck ride home, the rescuers fed Kabu bananas and tamarinds, and poured water over her body to cool her from the heat.
Thailand is filled with stories of animal abuse, as elephants are exploited for the lucrative tourism industry. By the time they are rescued, most abused elephants have mental problems that take years to undo, says Chailert.
Initially, Kabu seemed fearful about entering her new environment when she arrived at the park. But the warm welcome she received from the other elephants quickly calmed her down.
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