Old And Abused Elephants Had Been Through HELL. But Now That They Have Each Other? I AM MELTING

August 12th was World Elephant Day, and although elephants are admired for the being majestic creatures — so much so that they have their own day of celebration — there is another world of exploitation and abuse that many elephants face. Mae Kam lived most of her life in awful circumstances, but now receives the love and respect she deserves, thanks to an incredible rescue team!

Mae Kam went through the most painful experience a mother could: She lost both of her babies. Besides a tough work regimen, these tragic losses spiraled her deeper into depression.

One calf was a stillborn and the other died from a king cobra bite while she was chained up, helplessly watching the entire scene unfold. Even when she was not physically chained up, Mae Kam was symbolically chained to a life of abuse by her handlers.

Mae Kam was forced to do grueling work in Thailand’s logging business until it was banned. She was sold to a tourist attraction were she was forced to trek tourists all day, but she eventually stopped performing her duties and would shake tourists off of her back.

Mae Kam’s handlers would beat her as punishment and all hope seemed lost. Then, Emily McWilliam and Burm Rinkaew, the founders of Burm & Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary (BEES), came up with a creative way to get her current owner to release Mae Kam to their sanctuary.

McWilliam and Rinkaew realized that the owner depended on income that Mae Kam brought in, so they struck up a deal where they would pay him “rent” to keep Mae Kam in their care at BEES. He took the deal, but McWilliam and Rinkaew knew the real pain Mae Kam needed to heal from was the emotional pain she had suffered for so long.

Thankfully, Mae Kam was their first elephant so she had the space she needed to roam the forest without any social pressure. It was soon time for another abused elephant, Mae Jumpee, to be “rented” and become the new resident at the sanctuary.

The two elephants quickly bonded, perhaps with the deep understanding of hardships each other had to endured. They can now be found at BEES together doing what they should have been allowed to do their whole lives.

They explore, eat and simply live in peace. Please share this story and the amazing work happening at BEES with your friends and family!

Source: http://www.liftable.com/carolynfultz/old-and-abused-elephants-had-been-through-hell-but-now-that-they-have-each-other-i-am-melting/