A sad start...

This past week started off on a sad note. Two of our leased elephants, Kanun (6 months) and his mother, were taken back by their owner. Initially they were supposed to leave Tuesday, but Monday morning, I was feeding the cats & I noticed a man leading the two of them down the drive. They didn't even tell anyone they were leaving. What makes it even more devestating is that Kanun has been sold to a circus. Elephants normally nurse until they're almost 2 years of age, but in this case, it appears Kanun will be weaned incredibly early. I can't imagine the pain & anguish his mother will feel. She'll return to treking & will likely never see her baby again.

I think it's made Lek think more about leasing elephants. She pays the elephant owners to look after their animals for them & give the elephants a rest. She had tried to negotiate a fair price for Kanun & his mom (JoBan), but the price the owner wanted was far above & beyond what she could afford. It's difficult - many of the elephant owners see all the farangs (foreigners) involved in her project & assume Lek has access to loads of money, so they demand absurd prices... What a slap in the face - Lek has been paying to lease JoBan & Kanun, so that they could have a rest, and in return the owner takes his now-healthy elephants & returns one to the brutal treking life, and sells a ridiculously young elephant to the circus.