Project Description
La Ong Dao
La Ong Dao (meaning Shooting star)
Age : 50+
Arrival at WFFT : 1st November 2014 from a small elephant camp in Pattaya, the same camp Kaew Petch was rescued from.
Working History : Logging, Trekking.
She was used in the tourism industry to allow tourists visiting Thailand the chance to ride elephants. Although La Ong Dao is a healthy elephant, she was worked to the point of exhaustion carrying tourists day in day out on her back in the blistering thai sun.
Temperament : Gentle, friendly.
Distinguishing physical features :
- Very distinct pink pigment markings on her face, trunk and ears – These marks surround her eyes and trunk leaving the dark skin of the eyelids to portrait Panda Eyes- nicknamed ‘Panda’
- Missing bottom section of her tail
- Very healthy, rotund elephant
Characteristics :
La Ong Dao is a very friendly elephant who is quick to make friends amongst the other elephants at WFFT. Approaching most of the elephants to interact and communicate, La Ong Dao has found a friend in our recently rescued elephant KaewPetch and is now able to live with a friend. From day one, it was apparent that La Ong Dao had a love for swimming. On her first trip to the lake she entered on her own where she tumbled and turned in the water, splashing and spraying herself happily.
Adopt La Ong Dao today: Help us to finance the ongoing care for La Ong Dao by making a donation. Adoption donations are safe, secure and tax deductible through Paypal.
La Ong Dao’s Story
December 2018
Intruder! Intruder!
🔊SOUND ON! We gave Pin's family a yoga ball for enrichment and their initial response was...a tad dramatic... https://youtu.be/lEc1B59alSI
Midlands Makeover
Last week our elephant volunteers gave a Midlands enclosure a makeover! The poles were repainted, some tire enrichments and a scratching post were set up, and sand piles were recreated for the sweet eles to [...]
November 2018
Pin’s 4th Birthday!
It was Pin's 4th birthday yesterday and we celebrated with a two tiered banana cake complete with tamarind candles. Everything was going just fine until Kaew Petch ran off with the cake! Pin did get [...]
October 2018
Singing in the Rain
This is 4 minutes of pure joy. Watch baby Pin's herd go for a swim and mudbath after a rainstorm! https://youtu.be/sNzWgedhYZU
How to Age Elephants
Did you know that elephants have 6 sets of teeth in a lifetime? Here are some other ways you can estimate the age of an elephant! https://youtu.be/eC7zQSYne3w
August 2018
Set off over the Seas! The Elephant Raft
Take a look at the infamous WFFT Banana Tree Raft, a fun enrichment that the WFFT volunteers love to create for Pin and her family. We recently said goodbye to our Elephant Volunteer Coordinator Dave, [...]
Pin’s Crew… Who knew grass grew on Ele’s.
Take a look at these photographs of Pin and Co. playing with the natural grasses and earth. One may say these ladies are truly caked in earth.
May 2018
Trunk Re-fill for La Ong Dao
La Ong Dao loves to drink cool fresh water from the hosepipe on a very hot day.
Pin and her Family…
Baby Pin is growing up very fast, although she will always be under the watchful eyes of her mother 'Pun' and doting aunties 'Kaew Petch' and 'La Ong Dao'. 3-year-old Pin rules the herd, her [...]
February 2017
Enrichment time for the ele’s
Here are some images from our latest ele tyre toy enrichments. Hours of fun was had when the new toy was given to Pin's herd, squeaks, rumbles, kicks and lots of trumpets galore. [...]
A Helping Hand (Trunk) for little Pin
As Pin explores her new enclosure she is under the close watch of her doting aunties, La ong Dao and Keaw Petch, and mother Pun. The new lake within the enclosure is considerably larger than [...]
WFFT’s Newest Elephant Enclosure
The latest new enclosure for elephants has just been completed at the WFFT Elephant Refuge - Thailand. We have created a new large area for Pin’s herd, tripling the size of their current habitat. Pin [...]
November 2016
Happy 2nd Birthday to our Special Little Princess
We held a birthday party for little Pin yesterday as she reached two years old. Here are some images of the celebrations with her mother Pun, and aunties Kaew Petch and La Ong Dao. Here’s [...]
June 2016
Our Little Elephant Family
Take a look at our little family of elephants, Pin and mummy Pun, and aunties La Ong Dao and Kaew Petch having fun exploring the neighboring enclosure while we plant new large trees within their [...]
November 2014
Welcome to La Ong Dao! 30 years of service of tourists and now retired!
Our November 2014 elephant rescue is about “La Ong Dao”, a 55 year old elephant that was rescued from an elephant camp in Pattaya, Thailand. La Ong Dao has worked in tourism for the last [...]
