One night at the Elephant Nature Park (saveelephant.org) there was quite the commotion with trumpeting and trunk slapping. It wasn’t until the morning though that they realized why: a little baby boy had been born during the night. He was given the name Navann, after a minister in the Cambodian government, who happened to be visiting when the baby was born.
The birth of Navann came as a complete surprise. His mother, Mae Sri Prae, was rescued from a forced breeding program just two years ago, the exact amount of gestation time of an elephant. So apparently, she arrived pregnant and no one knew until Navann delightfully surprised everyone.
It was hard to stop watching and taking pictures of this miniature elephant with tiny features:
We saw him nurse a couple of times:
We also observed Lek interact with Navann, something that seems to make them both happy:
We also filled up a small tub of water for him to play with which was a real treat for everyone. Forget those other elephant shows the elephant paint a picture or perform some sort of tricks! This was the only show we needed! He blew bubbles, splashed around and tried to climb inside, ultimately knocking the tub over and getting himself all wet.
Navann’s mahout’s name is Dam (pronounced Dahm) and he had just lost his elephant, Mae Kham Geao, only a month ago. He had been taking care of her for 9 years and so was very sad when she died. Due to the timing of Navann’s birth, Dam was assigned to him. It was very clear from watching them interact that they both really like each other:
And just in case you can’t get enough of this adorable thing either, here is a short clip of him learning the fine line of exploring the world and keeping Mommy close:
Stay tuned for updates on Navann and his Mom, Mae Sri Prae.
Love,
Mindy and Ligeia :):)
Anonymous
I am glad that you made it home ok.
This little Navann is just too cute! Hope he has a happy and long life. This is such a blessing and so unexpected!
Thanks for sharing!
I also like the website and the speaker on the video is very pretty! – all well done!
Now that the rain season is over have a good next season and learn some more exciting things about this country and then share!!!
Love from Oma 🙂
Mike
He sure is cute.
Anonymous
I got DA FACE!!