{"id":258452,"date":"2025-10-31T06:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T23:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ttrweekly.com\/site\/?p=258452"},"modified":"2025-10-30T23:18:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T16:18:22","slug":"honey-helps-a-senior-elephant-heal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ttrweekly.com\/site\/2025\/10\/honey-helps-a-senior-elephant-heal\/","title":{"rendered":"Honey helps a senior elephant heal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BANGKOK, 31 October 2025: When a neighbour of Asian Trails\u2019 Chairman, Luzi Matzig, returned from an RV River Kwai cruise, he shared a story about visiting the Somboon Legacy Foundation, an ethical non-profit, elephant camp in Kanchanaburi province that provides lifelong care for four elderly elephants aged between 60 and 90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the elephants, \u2018Kham Phaeng\u2019<\/em>, was suffering from a leg wound sustained before its rescue. Luzi\u2019s neighbour, who imports Manuka honey from New Zealand, suggested that using honey, known for its potent antibacterial and healing properties, could be used to treat the ailing elephant.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Photo credit: Asian Trails. A chance encounter turned into a heart-warming act of care when Asian Trails\u2019 Chairman, Luzi Matzi (right), delivered healing Manuka honey for an injured Thai elephant.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This neighbourly connection led to Asian Trails receiving some of the honey, and staff joined the peak season\u2019s first RV River Kwai cruise to deliver it to the foundation. Sixty-year-old Kham Phaeng had the precious honey applied to her wound in the presence of our team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caring for elephants is a central part of Asian Trails\u2019 commitment to ethical wildlife practices, and this is closely monitored during the company\u2019s audits of all elephant camps included in its tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assessment includes training all staff to understand the complexities of caring for wild elephants in captivity; the relationship between elephants and mahouts regarding safety; the expectations of clients who are following animal welfare guidelines; and the ethical experiences visitors enjoy when they visit elephant camps that forbid riding and human contact when bathing the animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a recent audit of the Somboon Legacy Foundation, the Asian Trails team arrived as the elephants were bathing on the riverside. Staff were able to view the jumbos from an elevated platform, allowing the animals to enjoy their dip without human intrusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jumbos then leisurely returned to a shaded wooded area, where their mahouts fed them. All four elephants are very calm and appear content, and their bond with their mahouts remains strong, as the handlers manage them easily with voice commands.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Photo credit: Asian Trails.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Although Kham Phaeng\u2019s leg wound has improved, she still has some minor wounds that are healing, to which her mahout has applied the honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides viewing the resident elephants, the Somboon Foundation has an excellent educational centre where children and adults alike can learn about elephants and their lives in captivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many interactive exhibits, including one where flapping a model elephant\u2019s ear on a display panel triggers lights that illustrate how an elephant\u2019s natural cooling system works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors can also see demonstrations of how elephant dung is transformed into paper and participate in a hands-on workshop to create paper products from elephant waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This experience not only reinforces Asian Trails\u2019 Responsible Wildlife Policy, which supports ethical elephant camps that provide excellent care with minimal human interaction, but also underscores the importance of responsible tourism. It also allows visitors to witness the sanctuary\u2019s vital role as a resting home for elephants with complex pasts and health conditions that prevent them from returning to the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Kam Phaeng was rescued by the foundation from a trekking camp in Pattaya where tourists had ridden her on a heavy wooden seat. She had spent the last decade of her life chained up by 15-cm-long chains on one front and one rear leg. Therefore, she was never able to sleep lying down.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Asian Trails\u2019 RV River Kwai sailing the River Kwai Noi.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

She has now gained weight and enjoys the forested environment of the refuge, a perfect replication of an elephant\u2019s natural habitat with trees, plants, ponds and a river that provide respite from the hot sun, plus opportunities to forage and stimulate the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To book a tour to the Somboon Legacy Foundation or any of the other ethical elephant camps Asian Trails promotes, contact Asian Trails Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more about Asian Trails\u2019 sustainable initiatives, please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Source: Your Stories \u2014 Asian Trails).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BANGKOK, 31 October 2025: When a neighbour of Asian Trails\u2019 Chairman, Luzi Matzig, returned from an RV River Kwai cruise, he shared a story about visiting the Somboon Legacy Foundation, an ethical non-profit, elephant camp in Kanchanaburi province that provides lifelong care for four elderly elephants aged between 60 and 90. One of the elephants, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":258456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3991,3988],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-258452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel-companies","8":"category-stories"},"yoast_head":"\nHoney helps a senior elephant heal - TTR Weekly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ttrweekly.com\/site\/2025\/10\/honey-helps-a-senior-elephant-heal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honey helps a senior elephant heal - TTR Weekly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BANGKOK, 31 October 2025: When a neighbour of Asian Trails\u2019 Chairman, Luzi Matzig, returned from an RV River Kwai cruise, he shared a story about visiting the Somboon Legacy Foundation, an ethical non-profit, elephant camp in Kanchanaburi province that provides lifelong care for four elderly elephants aged between 60 and 90. 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