When little elephant Me-Bai was three years old, she was captured and sold to a Thai company that wanted to train her as a riding elephant for tourists. She was thrust into a hard life at a very young age and quickly became depressed. She began to lose an unhealthy amount of weight.
Luckily, workers from Elephant Nature Park stepped in, adopted her, and nursed her back to health. But Me-Bai’s turn in luck was just gaining momentum.
Elephant Nature Park soon learned something amazing about Me-Bai’s mother… and started planning a huge surprise!
In Thailand, a young elephant named Me-Bai was kidnapped and taken away from her mother at just three years old. She was brought to another part of the country and forced to give rides to tourists. After three and a half years of hard labor, she was too weak to continue. She became underweight and depressed.
As it turned out, Me-Bai’s mother, Mae Yui, was also giving tourist rides at the same time. When Elephant Nature Park rescued Me-Bai and learned that her mother, who was about 30 years old, was not too far away, they decided to reach out to Mae Yui’s owners to see if they would be willing to retire her.
Mae Yui’s owners agreed, and Elephant Nature Park began to plan a big surprise for both elephants. The long separated mother and daughter now had a chance to reunite, and even though young Me-Bai was cautious of her new surrounding at Elephant Nature Park, she quickly relaxed.
When Me-Bai was finally reunited with her mother, it was emotional, to say the least. “An elephant never forgets,” as the saying goes—and that was certainly true for these two, whose loving reunion was caught on camera.
Usually, a baby elephant spends 11 years with her mother before she’s able to leave her side. Because Me-Bai was kidnapped at such a young age, she was overjoyed to see her mother again. Mae Yui was clearly excited to have her baby back, too.
Now, with the help of Elephant Nature Park, Me-Bai and Mae Yui are being rehabilitated to return to the wild together. In the meantime, their interactions spread smiles all around, as anyone can see how happy the reunion made them both.
Me-Bai and Mae Yui’s reunion was truly touching. It’s rare for animals—especially endangered ones—to experience such a happy moment like this. Just watch what Me-Bai and Mae Yui do once they’re together!
What an amazing moment! You can check out this video if you’d like to see how Me-Bai and her mother are doing a month after their reunion.
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