The curious tale of Sudarat the Elephant

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From Thai Enquirer

The tale of Sudarat the Elephant made international headlines earlier this month when a global fundraising campaign managed to save the 45-year-old elephant from being forced back into the tourism industry by raising 47,000 USD to purchase her from her owner.

“Our hope to rescue Sudarat and have her stay at Samui Elephant Haven forever, with her family and friends is a reality!” the sanctuary posted on Facebook on Monday.

While netizens from all over the world celebrated the good news, the story of Sudarat’s rescue has raised questions about the state of animal welfare, in particular elephants, in Thailand and the intersections of culture, animal rights, and tourism.

Sudarat, like most tamed and commercialized working elephants in Thailand, has had a long and tragic life. She began life as a logging elephant based in the north of Thailand, where she was forced to sleep standing up. Later, she was sold to a family of mahouts in Pattaya, where she was used for the tourism industry, carrying tourists up to 60 times a day and walking on hot concrete for almost a decade, as a means for the family to generate income.

When Sudarat’s mahout got into a life-threatening accident, his family sent her to the sanctuary. But after three years of living freely as a retired elephant with her newfound family and herd of 4 elephants, the family want her back. “[The Mahout] has decided that now is the time to take her back and as he is her legal owner we, unfortunately, have no right to keep Sudarat,” the sanctuary announced on their Facebook page.

“Over the past few years, we have tried many times to negotiate with her owner in the hope of buying Sudarat to ensure that she could stay with us and her herd forever. However, he has no desire to sell Sudarat to us but we thank everyone for their kind offer of raising funds and helping in any way they could.”

Sudarat’s fate to retire at the sanctuary, just a week ago, seemed far-fetched. The owner demanded $47,000 dollars for her outright purchase – not a small sum in a country decimated economically by the pandemic.

“We only have until the end of the month to raise the funds since he has already organized the truck and team to collect her,” said the sanctuary.

What happened next has gone viral. Through the kindness of internet strangers, a global fundraising campaign managed to get enough money to buy Sudarat her freedom.

Continues with photos and video

https://www.thaienquirer.com/33295/the-curious-tale-of-sudarat-the-elephant/