​Sudjai is our oldest and smallest elephant. At 61 years old, some think she's young, but you can see from her sunken temples and cheeks, that her body wears her age. We rescued Sudjai in March 2024 from a logging camp in the south of Thailand. She was emaciated as she had been worked very hard and we could see her ribcage. She has two huge muscle formations on the front of her shoulders from hauling timber from the forest, and her back legs have been stabbed to force her to pull heavy loads. ​

She arrived on the same huge truck as Wassana, both already friends when they arrived having spent a week in the Province to settle before their long journey to Phuket. ​As an older elephant, Sudjai likes to think she's the matriarch. She is happy being with Wassana but can be a little jealous with Nong Fai but she will settle with time. She initially didn't like to bathe and we aren't sure if she was never allowed to bathe before or something horrific has happened to her in the water, but now you can't keep her out. She does love her own space and often wanders into the forest near the pond for time alone.

We find when we rescue older elephants that they like time alone after a very long hard solitary life being told what to do and forced to work. ​Sudjai has all the time in the world to settle into her new home with us and we look forward to watching as she continues to find the peace and tranquility in the forest that she deserves. ​​