Phuket Elephant Sanctuary · Thailand
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Sanctuary story
Phuket Elephant Sanctuary
In October 2018, Cattleya’s owner contacted one of our mahouts, concerned about her well-being. After being rented to logging camps in Trang province, 45-year-old Cattleya endured grueling 16-hour days pulling heavy trees and suffered from physical and mental abuse.
Moved by her plight, our mahouts alerted our founder, Khun Montri. Together, they traveled to Trang, finding Cattleya weak, fragile, and battling a skin infection and parasites. Swiftly, plans were made to rescue her.
Upon arriving at Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, Cattleya hesitated, likely expecting another labor camp. But by the next morning, she was foraging, splashing in the water, and mingling with her new companions.
Today, Cattleya thrives in her forever home together with her friend Kannika, embracing her freedom and newfound happiness. She is a symbol of resilience and reminds us why we strive to provide every elephant the care and peace they deserve.
Story from phuketelephantsanctuary.org ↗. elephant.se data synced separately; this narrative is not overwritten by weekly sync.
First ethical elephant sanctuary on Phuket. Observation-only model; phasing out hand-feeding by April 2026 per WAP assessment.
2018-11-21
from Krabi TECC elephant hospital
2018-11-21
from Thailand unspecified location
Data from elephant.se (Dan A. J. Koehl), CC BY 4.0. Reformatted for search.
