Have you ever seen an elephant up close?
Being the largest land animal, Elephants are majestic creatures that can easily intimidate with their size.
However, elephants have experienced so much cruelty from people, and some stories are just unimaginable.
Saengduean Lek Chailert had always loved elephants. Her passion began when she was just a child.
Her grandfather, a local healer in their village, gave her an elephant as a gift, and she loved her so much.
Saengduean became invested in elephants and found out the horrific truth about their abuse.
She established ENP or Elephant Nature Park in Northern Thailand in 2003.
ENP rescues, rehabilitates, and helps elephants that have been neglected, abused, and abandoned.
One of their rescues is the 12-year-old KhamLa.
Her mother, Mae Sai Ngern, lived and worked for people at the trekking camp Kanchanaburi.
When KhamLa was born, they took away her from her mother to be trained to perform.
Mae Sai Ngern and KhamLa were rescued by ENP after being notified of the situation.
KhamLa, which means Darling, was so happy to see her mother. She started to bond with her.
Unfortunately, Mae Sai Ngern wasn’t as enthusiastic as her daughter.
Since elephants never forget, Mae Sai Ngern still felt scared and traumatized and was so afraid that her child would, again, be taken away from her.
With lots of patience and care, the two eventually bonded.
KhamLa and her mother felt so happy with their new lives.
They were with other elephants and were able to live a healthy and happy life.
If you are wondering what their favorite pastime is, then you are right, they love having long baths in the river.
In a viral video, we see caretaker Darrick Thomson with KhamLa and her family.
After a long day, on their way back to the shelter, Darrick allowed KhamLa to enjoy and take a bath in the river.
The beautiful elephants would stay and play in the river for as long as they could.
But as the sun starts to set, Darrick would call them back so they could walk back to their shelter.
You’d think that Darrick would need some sort of device for the elephants to hear him, but he doesn’t.
He calls for KhamLa and the gentle giant would get up and go to Darrick.
With a loud trumpet, it’s as if KhamLa answers Darrick’s calls.
Everyone else would follow her.
It’s not just KhamLa who’s sweet and gentle.
Every elephant in her herd would come close to Darrick and would even greet him gently.
Even with their massive size, these elephants are sweet, gentle, and affectionate.
As the sun sets, we see Darrick, KhamLa, and the rest of the herd walking, going back to their shelter.
This video went viral and garnered over 2M views.
Elephants aren’t just beautiful animals, they are precious animals that we need to protect and love.
They shouldn’t be caged, tortured, or trained to perform.
Elephants should thrive in their environment, be with their families, and play as much as they could in the water.
Watch the beautiful moment of KhamLa and Darrick below.
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