The elephant has become famous after her mahout posted a video of her relaxing on a beach, looking at the sea and sky. The clip went viral and Thai netizens named her ‘Indy Jumbo,’ as she loves nature and does whatever she wants.
Watch : TikTok clip of Indy elephant
In the clip, her mahout fails to convince her to go home as she insists on sitting on the beach. Her mahout is heard repeating “Please come home now, I’m so tired of telling you.”
Dummy, as her mahout calls her, loves to make a series of high-pitched sounds, which led some to call her the ‘nagging elephant’ as well. The clip got the media’s attention and reports said that her owner bought her from her previous owner in Phuket.
The owner was forced to sell her because his business was losing money. Her new owner also runs a tourism-related business. This detail worried animal lovers, who were concerned that she may be abused to serve the business and may not enjoy her life as before.
Upon learning of her plight, Phra Kru Sangkarak Virawat of Jedi Luang temple in Chiang Mai province, led a campaign to buy Dummy. The new owner agreed to sell her for Bt2.1 million.
Kanchana Silpa-archa, known for her charity work for animals, donated Bt1 million to the campaign.
When donations reached Bt2.1 million, Dummy’s journey from Songkhla to Lampang began. Many people from Songkhla showed up on February 6th to bid farewell to the elephant. She has now been renamed “Saen-ru” and will be quarantined before joining her herd at the Lampang Thai Elephant Centre.
by Marisa Chimprabha
