Name(s) : Tangmo means Watermelon in Thai
Born : 1950 in Chiang Mai
Gender : Female
Background : Logging industry and at trekking camps in Chiang Mai
Status : is at Elephants World
📍 BORN:
in 1950, in Chiang Mai, which makes her our oldest elephant!
🧳 BACKGROUND:
Tangmo was made to work in the logging industry before becoming a trekking elephant in the camps of Chiang Mai.
🧘🏻♀️ RETIREMENT:
Tangmo finally came to ElephantsWorld from her trekking camp in April 2014. When she first arrived, she was very weak and underweight. She was brought to ElephantWorld because her owner decided she was no good for working anymore, too weak and too slow… but when she got off the truck, she was running around! After being nursed back to health by the team at ElephantsWorld, and taking some time to recover from malnourishment, she gained a healthy amount of weight and is now a much stronger grandma!
🦸🏽♂️ MAHOUT:
Her Mahout is Sawnidoh, who has been with her since 2018.
ℹ️ Facts about her:
💦 When she arrived, she was terrified of water, you could hear her cry out when she would get near. We aren’t sure why… This is unusual, as most elephants love water. She used to avoid going into the river with the other elephants and prefers (still very much does) to drink from the hose. Step by step, with lots of care and patience from her mahout, she has grown to be more comfortable with water and enjoys a bath every now and then, if no one else is around.
🗣️ She only speaks Thai. Unlike most of our elephants, who understand Karen commands (a dialect from Myanmar) Tangmo was born in Thailand and was taught Thai commands.
🍽️ She’s a real picky eater and will only eat the very best: pealed watermelon 🍉 soft sticky rice balls with pumpkin 🍚 and of course sweet bananas 🍌Tangmo does not have any teeth remaining due to her age, so enjoys a soft diet, just like elderly humans!
ℹ️ How to recognise her:
- She’s just beautiful (for a start)
- She has a very bony back
- Her head appears as though it is caving in at the sides
- She has a small hole in her right ear
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