A mother elephant and her daughter have a heartbreaking reunion at Thailand’s Elephant Nature Park, a rescue and rehabilitation facility, after being separated by the tourism industry for nearly three years. The stunning event was captured on camera, demonstrating the elephants’ strong emotional bond with one another!
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Mae Yui’s daughter, MeBai, was taken away from mom when she was 3 years old and forced to carry visitors on her back through the streets of Thailand — a fate shared by hundreds of Asian elephants. MeBai kept living this miserable life for about three years, which hurt her health in a big way.
Thankfully, a group of volunteers saved the frail elephant just in time and took her to the Elephant Nature Park refuge in Chiang Mai province, where she learned to wander free again. But, after so many years of pain, the MeBai are in for a tremendous surprise. Her mother, who had suffered the same fate, was also rescued and transported to a different shelter. But the organization eventually tracked her out and brought her there to be reunited with her kid.
The reunion of the two elephants after three years apart is heartwarming. There are no words to explain how I felt. The couple snuggled and remained together for about an hour. A wonderfully touching moment! “This is a great event, and it proves that an elephant never forgets,” a caregiver stated. “Especially the elephant’s affection.”
The duo will stay at the refuge together until they are ready to return to their natural habitat. “The Elephant Nature Park and the Elephant Nature Park are collaborating to rehabilitate Mae Yui and Me-Bai so that they may return to the wild and live free,” the sanctuary noted.
Check out the touching reunion video below!
