MEET THE LAST ELEPHANTS OF RATANAKIRI
Ikeo is Airavata’s only female, she was born in captivity in the village of Samot Krom in 1982. Her grandmother had been caught in the forest and was later mated to a wild male just captured. Her mother was mated the same way, during the Khmer rouge she was used as a pack elephant to carry supplies. When Ikeo was two years old, Vietnamese soldiers took over the village and shot her mother dead to take her tusks. Her owner then hid her in the forest for over a year till the Vietnamese withdrew from the village. Ikeo started working very hard from the age of 7. Her job was to carry and haul large amounts of wood to neighboring Vietnam. She now only does light work and eats like an… elephant !
Born in 1976, Kamsen was the one true love of his former mahout, he even bought a patch of forest to accommodate him after work! To deter people who wanted to buy him (as he was owned not only by him but by the whole family), his mahout pretended he was a dangerous elephant that he only could handle. This worked very well till the poor man committed suicide after a family dispute. Out of respect for his memory we decided that Kamsen would lead a happy life in his home province.
Bokva is currently the biggest Cambodian elephant; he was born in captivity in the village of Kampleign in 1980. His mother had been caught in the forest and his father was a wild elephant. A little after his birth his owner hid Bokva in the forest to protect him from the Vietnamese soldiers controlling the area. Bokva has only carried light loads and worked as a hunting elephant that’s why he is now in very good shape. He was sold following the death of his owner as the family didn’t want to look after him any more.