Thai elephant sanctuary offers animals abused in tourist industry relief in retirement

South China Morning Post

25-05-2025

At the Samui Elephant Sanctuary, Kaew Ta and Kham Phean have found the best way to beat the scorching May heat: by taking a dip in the pool followed by a mud bath.
In the lush grounds of Bo Phut in the heart of Koh Samui, a tourist island in southern Thailand, the sanctuary – set in a forest among bougainvillea, birds and butterflies – is home to seven female Asian elephants.
'Kaew Ta and Kham Phean love spraying mud on their backs because it protects their skin from the sun and also from the insects,' says sanctuary guide Sam Surachai Pinsepin of the elephants, both in their mid-sixties.
They also love treats of watermelon and rice and pumpkin wrapped in banana leaves, he says.
Rescued elephants bathe at the Samui Elephant Sanctuary. Photo: Kylie Knott
Pachyderm paradise is an apt description for the Samui Elephant Sanctuary. But life was not always this good for these majestic animals.
Years before arriving at the sanctuary in 2018 – the year it opened – the elephants did gruelling work in the logging industry. That was until 1989, when Thailand banned trade in timber to protect its forests.