Residents
Elephants at Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES)
Master Monet
Monet was born at a camp and made to entertain tourists, and later to beg in the city. On 26 September 2026 he reached BLES after an 18-hour drive through flooded roads. After everything, he now gets to spend his days however he chooses.
Resident since 2026
Lady Lucky
For most of her life Lucky gave rides at a camp in southern Thailand. A breeding attack badly injured her, and she was then put to work logging. Supporters raised the money for her rescue in around five hours, and she came to BLES on 18 April 2026. The kindness of strangers brought her to safety, and her working days are finally over.
Resident since 2026
Mama Rose
Newer tourist camps had left Rose's owner unable to make a living, so he asked BLES to take her and her calf as a pair. Both arrived on 3 March 2026. Now mother and calf can grow old and grow up side by side, with nothing asked of them.
Resident since 2026
Baby Precious
Rose's calf Precious came with her on 3 March 2026 and spends his days playing in the mud.
Resident since 2026
Sweetheart (Wan Jai)
Sweetheart's back legs were weakened when a tree fell on her, and her mother, a logging elephant, died without warning when Sweetheart was around two. BLES brought her in in December 2025, and the matriarchs Pang Suai and Pang Noi took her on as their own.
Resident since 2025
Granny Gaew
At a neglected zoo, Gaew lived chained on concrete, begged and carried tourists on a seat. She came to BLES with her friend Naam Chok on 29 September 2025, too thin and with infected wounds. No more concrete or chains: now she has soft ground beneath her feet and her friend for company.
Resident since 2025
Nanny Naam Chok
At the same zoo as Gaew, Naam Chok was chained next to her and used for begging and rides. Their owner agreed to release them, and they left together. Side by side for so long in hard times, they now share a gentler life together.
Resident since 2025
Adorable Aroon
Aroon lived at a tourist camp in Chiang Mai until he was six. Rather than sell him to a circus, show or temple, his owner asked BLES to take him, and he moved in on 3 July 2025. Thanks to that choice, he will grow up free to be an elephant.
Resident since 2025
Playful Poon Sab
Poon Sab gave bench rides to tourists for 8–10 hours every day until debts forced her owner to sell her. She came to BLES on 18 February 2025 and adores water, from ponds to puddles.
Resident since 2025
Brave Boon Dwang
Boon Dwang was the only elephant left in her hill village. After years of logging and being hired out to camps, she was kept chained by both front legs until her owners asked BLES to take her. The chains are gone, and she's no longer alone.
Asian elephant
Strong Boy Sompord
Sompord was one of four logging bulls from Baan Tuek who came to BLES in December 2015. He went back during the pandemic, and BLES rescued him again, along with his owner, in November 2024. Few elephants get a second chance at sanctuary, and Sompord has had two.
Resident since 2015
Majestic Mare Noi
Mare Noi logged for years and was then bred again and again, losing three pregnancies. When a breeder wanted to buy her, BLES raised the money within a day, and she arrived on 12 August 2024. Her body has been through so much, but now it can rest.
Resident since 2024
Beautiful Boon Ma
For decades Boon Ma lived in a small stable beside a road, where tourists fed and rode her. Supporters funded her retirement within 10 days, and she came to BLES on 18 July 2024. After decades beside a road, she now has open space and the freedom to choose her own path.
Resident since 2024
Darling Dok Lak
Dok Lak worked at tourist camps for much of her life. When her owners could no longer pay for her keep, she was chained up in a village. She and Mare Ladee moved to BLES in January 2023. She didn't make the journey alone, and at BLES the two friends can now spend their days however they please.
Resident since 2023
Mischievous Mare Ladee
Mare Ladee worked in tourism in the south of Thailand until her camp shut during the pandemic, after which she was chained next to Dok Lak. The two came to BLES in January 2023. After so long chained side by side, the two now walk free together.
Resident since 2023
Confident Thong Kham
Thong Kham was discovered tied up in a shed, still wearing a heavy metal riding seat. Her owners wanted her to retire before breeders could buy her, and supporters covered her rescue within a day. That heavy seat is gone for good, and so is the threat of being bred.
Asian elephant
Precious Thong Poon
At a camp in Pattaya, Thong Poon gave rides for 8–10 hours a day. She reached BLES with cracked skin and only one molar remaining, and has become close to Mare Ladee, Dok Lak and Poon Sab.
Asian elephant
Peaceful Ploy
BLES found Ploy tied up and badly underweight at a tourist camp on Koh Chang. Her owner worried she wouldn't survive without her companion Pwong Thong, so both came to the sanctuary. Kept together, the two companions can now face the future side by side.
Asian elephant
Lovely Lotus
Lotus gave rides and was bred against her will, then chained next to a busy road where her feet rotted. With Pang Dow and Wassana she now forms the trio nicknamed the Gossip Girls.
Asian elephant
Wonderful Wassana
A landmine injured Wassana's foot, yet she was still used for trekking and logging. She now has a specially made sock to protect it. It's a small thing, but it shows just how much she is cared for now. With Pang Dow and Lotus she now forms the trio nicknamed the Gossip Girls.
Asian elephant
Powerhouse Pang Dow
Despite a disabled front leg, Pang Dow was made to beg in traffic as a calf, then to carry tourists and haul logs illegally. Now she's one of the Gossip Girls (with Wassana and Lotus), and nobody asks anything of her any more.
Asian elephant
Pang Suai
One of the herd's matriarchs, Pang Suai took in the orphaned calf Sweetheart. Thanks to her, a little orphan has a family once more.
Asian elephant
Pang Noi
One of the herd's matriarchs, Pang Noi helped raise the orphaned calf Sweetheart. Together with Pang Suai, she made sure Sweetheart would never be alone.
Asian elephant
Boon Lott
Boon Lott was born months early and lost the use of his back legs after a fall. He became the first elephant anywhere to use a wheelchair. He died on 26 June 2004, and the sanctuary bears his name.
In loving memory
“Little” Lom
As a calf Lom begged in the streets of Chiang Mai. She came to BLES in July 2006, underweight and frightened, formed a deep bond with the matriarch Pang Tong, and died unexpectedly on 19 November 2024. In her eighteen years at BLES, she went from a frightened calf to a much-loved member of the herd.
In loving memory
Nwon
Nwon, another of the Baan Tuek logging bulls, was in his seventies when he arrived in December 2015. A fall broke his hip, and he died on 1 April 2025. He spent almost ten years at BLES, finally able to rest after a lifetime of hauling logs.
In loving memory
Mr. Moo
Mr. Moo came to BLES in 2015 after a working life in logging, and spent his days with Pang Suai, Pang Noi and Lom. Kidney and liver disease caused his death in September 2023. His last years were spent with friends, free from the work that had filled his life.
In loving memory