Baby Elephant Joyfully Runs To Greet Tractor Driver Friend

Nov 08, 2020

Ever since Kham La, an elephant residing at the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in Northern Thailand, was rescued by Darrick Thompson in 2015, the little elephant has been immensely grateful. 

In a heartwarming video from 2016, that gratitude is shown as Darrick drives up to Kham La in a tractor, only for the little one to run up in excitement to greet him in the morning. The video has since made rounds on the internet, garnering over 2 million views. 

Kham La first joined the park in 2015, when co-founders of the organization Darrick Thomspon and Lek Chailert rescued her and reunited her with her mother. According to the Elephant Nature Park's website, Kham La became separated from her mother, Mae Sai Ngern, who was working at a trekking park at the time, and was taken away by humans. She was put through a so-called "breaking spirits ceremony" to make her submissive to humans and underwent performance training. 

Having already rescued Mae Sai Ngern, Thompson and Chailert embarked on a mission to get Kham La at the park and reunited with her mom. After much research, they finally tracked her down and brought her to the ENP. 

Although Kham La was "very happy" to be with her mother again, Mae Sai Ngern was weary of reconnecting with her daughter, something their keepers boil down to her pain of losing Kham La in the first place. Thankfully, the two eventually reconnected and now spend all their time together as a family. 

Since Kham La was rescued, the little elephant has developed something of a special relationship with Darrick. A member of the park's staff spoke to CNN about this back in 2016: 

"Since he rescued Kham La, he spent time to heal her from the mental [anguish] and has shown love to her," they said. 

"It's not long after that, she [made a] strong bond with him, and accepted him to be part of her herd."

That strong bond is demonstrated in this video, in which Darrick drives up to Kham La and her elephant herd. Although the rest of the animals don't always pay much mind to the tractor, Kham La becomes overcome with excitement and runs up to him. The rest of the herd follows the little one's lead but don't react the same way Kham La does upon reaching the tractor.

Kham La bellows out greetings to Darrick, who acknowledges her presence by petting her. Kham La seems to show genuine affection for her human friend, and Darrick returns the sentiment right back. According to the video description, that same interaction happens between the two every morning. Not a bad way to start the day if we do say so ourselves!

Their relationship even made headlines in 2016, when a video showed Kham La rush to Darrick's aid when she thought he was in trouble. According to CNN, Darrick was calling out to her from a waterhole, which Kham La understood to be calls of distress. The elephant immediately sprung into action by rushing over to him and shielding him with her body. She even offered him her trunk to grab onto so he wouldn't drown. 

Elephant Nature Park was founded in the 1990s and is run by Lek Chailert and her husband, Darrick Thomspon, as per their website. It is an Elephant rescue and sanctuary based in Chiang Mai province, Northern Thailand, that hosts other animals, such as cats, dogs, and buffaloes. The park hosts mostly elderly or disabled animals, who are allowed to roam free in the massive park and create bonds with one another. 

Besides providing sanctuary for the animals, Chailert and Thomspon work towards other vital causes such as rainforest restoration, preserving the local culture, protecting their animals no matter the pressure they receive from outside actors, and educating their visitors on endangered species. 

The ENP has since received many accolades for their important work, including the Smithsonian. Time Magazine even named a Chailert a 'Hero of Asia' in 2005. When it comes to their mission as an organization, it's really quite simple: 

"We believe that if we treat animals with love, the animal will paid back to us with love too," Chailert says.

Does Kham La show such friendship and love because she realizes the people at the Elephant Nature Park helped save her? No one knows for sure, but everyone probably feels good after seeing the kind interactions between the two friends. 

Have you ever had such a close bond with an animal? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!