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Elephant dies a month after being rescued from Thai tourism camp

Sao Noi's body was buried in the forest that she loved taking walks in when she was alive.
 By 
Alicia Tan
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Netizens are in mourning after hearing the devastating news about a rescued elephant's passing on Wednesday.

Rescued by the people working at Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in Sukhothai, Thailand, the elephant named Sao Noi, which means Little Girl, arrived at her new home in late May.

She was frail from back-breaking work and poor treatment at the hands of a tourism camp in Pattaya -- an all-too-common story for elephants involved in Thailand's infamous elephant tourism industry.


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BLES constantly kept its followers updated with Sao Noi's road to recovery on its Facebook page.

In the beginning, Sao Noi made good progress and seemed to have left her past behind her.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

However, her condition took a turn for the worse days before her death. She repeatedly collapsed and had to be put on emergency IV fluids.

A funeral ceremony was held for Sao Noi on Wednesday evening, during which monks came from the local temples to bless her body. She was buried in the forest that she loved to take walks in when she was still alive.

"Sao Noi was such a sweet old lady and we are all missing her very much," Katherine, one of the founders of BLES, told Mashable over email.

[h/t: Coconuts Bangkok]

Topics Animals

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Alicia Tan

Alicia Tan was an Asia Deputy Editor at Mashable. She has over 11 years of experience in journalism, magazine production and content publishing; specialising in women's lifestyle, fashion and beauty. When she's not writing, she's obsessing over Totoro, Ryan Gosling and online shopping.

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