Mae-Perm means the "luckier elephant". Her previous name was Maeyo (Karen tribal word). All Thai female elephant names start with " Mae " meaning mother or elder female. Normally, the elephant owner starts to use "Mae" with the female elephant as they start to grown up or when they start to reproduce.

No one knows exactly the whole story of Mae Perm though research showed that her mother was from Burma and she had come to stay to work as a logging elephant in the jungles along the border of Thailand and Burma. Mae Perm's had so many owners and was constantly moving around throughout Thailand. Her birth certificate and documents show that she never stayed in one place for very long. She never felt safe which, we assume, is why she never reproduced. Mae Perm retuned to the same places again and again, but with difference owners at different times. Her journeys had her travelling throughout the length and breadth of Thailand. She has been owned by a poor Karen tribal family, a British logging company and a rich family who kept her in their back yard as a show-piece to their guests. Some times she was happy because people treated her well but she was mostly unhappy because she had to stay in a very limited area and missed real nutrition and healthy food.

Lek had been trying to find Mae-Perm, but having little success, until the owner finally contacted her. She and the veterinarian found that Mae-Perm had big problems with her digestive system. They bought and transported her back home, so Mae-Perm became Lek's first rescued elephant. The first of many.

Mae-Perm is now 89-years old, but still looking very young. She has become a great Ambassador for elephants and eagerly demonstrates the love from elephant to human beings. She is the kindest, gentlest elephant on earth, and loves everybody around her. She makes babies enjoy being around her and has a delightful gentle touch. She radiates her love to people with her gentle eyes and charm. She loves to be with humans as much as she wants to spend time in the jungle. For too many years she was not able to live the life she enjoys now. Today she roams freely in the jungle at Elephant Haven. Although she had lost her last set of teeth, (elephant grow six during a lifetime) which generally determines the end of an elephants life. She wants, so much, to live in this place, and so she did an extraordinary thing. She produced a new set of teeth!

We hope that Mae- Perm will live much longer, and become the first great grand-mother elephant in Thailand.