ANIMALS
Elephant Overwhelmed With Emotion When Enjoying Freedom After 85 Years In Chains
Sombo is an elephant that endured 85 difficult years tied up in chains.
Sombo’s transition from a hard life on the streets to a peaceful one shows how strong the spirit can be and how much compassion can change things.
Sombo’s story starts when she’s older, showing how tough it is to live in captivity and be used just for human entertainment.
Taken from the wild when she was only three years old, Sombo’s earliest memories are overshadowed by losing her jungle home.
She was put into a different world from her home in the jungle and made to give rides to tourists.
This went on for many years, with different owners, the last of whom made her work for over 40 years.
It’s a story that’s sadly common for elephants kept in captivity, showing how they’re seen more for the money they can make than for their beauty and worth.
Then comes Lek Chailert, who started the Elephant Nature Park and the Save Elephant Foundation. She brings hope to Sombo’s story.
When Lek sees Sombo, she notices right away the signs of suffering – you can see all the pain in the elephant’s tired eyes.
Sombo’s body is in bad shape; she’s 1,000 kilos underweight, showing how she’s been neglected and suffered for years.
The story changes when Lek starts Sombo’s journey to freedom.
Every day, Sombo had to endure a tough schedule while in captivity, working for 10 to 12 hours without enough rest. Her feet were chained, so she couldn’t lie down properly at night.
She didn’t get enough to eat, and the food she did get was hard, so she had to soften it with her legs.
On top of all that, Sombo had problems with her senses – she couldn’t hear well and could only see a little, making her situation even worse and showing why she needed to be rescued urgently.
Getting Sombo to safety isn’t easy – it takes almost 30 hours of travel from Eastern to Northern Thailand where the sanctuary is. Lek stays by Sombo’s side the whole time, showing how much she cares.
She talks and sings to Sombo, comforting her and making a bond of trust and friendship. This is the start of Sombo’s recovery.
This connection is really important – it shows that Sombo’s leaving behind her old life of being alone and neglected.
Sombo’s story shows how elephants have strong family bonds, like humans do.
Elephants live in families led by females, and they’re really close-knit, helping and protecting each other.
But sometimes, the tourist industry breaks up these families. They take baby elephants away from their mothers so tourists can see them.
Sombo lost five calves because of this, showing how terrible it is for elephant families.
Lek doesn’t just want Sombo to get out of captivity.
She wants Sombo to be part of elephant society again, where she can make friends with other elephants and enjoy being in a herd.
Her dream is to give Sombo back her life as an elephant, with the support of her own kind around her.
It’s like Sombo is going back to what it really means to be an elephant, getting back the things like family and freedom that she missed for a long time.
Change is a big part of Sombo’s story. She goes from feeling hopeless to having lots of chances for the future.
With Lek looking after her, Sombo starts to do really well. Her world, which used to be quiet, starts to fill up with the sounds of friends and the warmth of a caring community.
You can watch the Sombo’s full story in the video here!
