Mae Mon’s Long Road to Freedom
-
by
scott
For nearly fifty years, Mae Mon’s life was defined by service to others. Formerly known as Subkamol, she has been given the new name Mae Mon to mark the start of her journey toward healing and freedom.
Mae Mon spent decades in a cycle of relentless labor, first as a logging elephant for 15 years and later as a riding elephant in Pattaya. From nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, day after day, she carried tourists on her back. Her body bears the physical evidence of these years with scars on her chest from the logging harness and a hole in her left ear where a hook was used to force her compliance. But the deepest scars were unseen. Throughout her life, she gave birth to two calves, only to have both of them taken from her.
The decision to let her go came when her owners, an elderly couple, faced a crisis. Between health struggles and mounting financial debt, they could no longer care for her. They loved her, but they knew she deserved a life beyond the constant strain of work.
Mae Mon's Rescue Journey
The journey to the sanctuary was long and exhausting. As the truck started the trip toward her new home, Mae Mon was panicked at first, but after adding more ropes to support her, she calmed down and remained relatively composed for the rest of the journey. She ate well, and at times battled fatigue, drifting off to sleep while standing as the road stretched out before her.
On 11 May 2026, Mae Mon arrived at the sanctuary to begin a promising new chapter. When she finally stepped into her new surroundings, her previous owner, Uncle Sawai, walked with Lek into the fields. As he watched a herd run toward them, he began to cry. He said he was moved to see the possibility of a life he had once only imagined for her—a life of running freely.
After just one month, Mae Mon’s transformation has begun. Despite the harsh conditions that she had to endure for so long, she is a gentle elephant with kind eyes. With each passing day she becomes calmer and is beginning to explore her new forever home more confidently. It is dawning on her that in this special place she is no longer expected to bear the load of carrying tourists and can instead relax and live at her own pace.
Mae Mon is now safe, she is healing, and for the first time in fifty years, she is free to simply be an elephant.
Thank you to Noelle Weiss and Les Éléphants de Lek for making Mae Mon’s journey to freedom possible. Mae Mon is finally home, where she will enjoy a life of dignity, peace, and respect.
