Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand; Beginnings: A Baby Elephant, the World’s First Elephant Wheelchair & A Visionary Determined to Uphold a Legacy

Behind every strong visionary is an inspiration. In this story the inspiration for elephant lover Katherine Connor to provide sanctuary for captive & abused elephants in Thailand (BLES) was a baby elephant who demonstrated such courage, as he struggled to overcome an injury, that he could only have been named Boon Lott…

Katherine Connor: “Right now in Thailand the death rate is above the birth rate and I want to change that around…I want a safe haven for the elephants of Thailand to go where they can relax and be elephants.”

“I have spent the past two years with Babar (baby elephant), um, Boon Lott is his Thai name which means ‘survivor’ which is quite a good name for him because he was born premature. His mother then rejected him. Mother and baby were then brought to an elephant hospital in North Thailand where they were taken care of. Mother then accepted the baby.”

“The baby was going to be separated from the mother at the age of six months which would have killed him because baby elephants suckle from the mothers for three years and like human babies they learn a lot from their mothers in the first few years of their life. And then I (Katherine Connor) raised money to buy him, so we kept them together.”

“A few months after that, unfortunately, Babar fell down a hill, um, and he could not move his back legs as a result. So through aggressive fundraising we raised the funds to build him a hydrotherapy pool to, uh, have a horse sling brought over from the States for him. We made the world’s first elephant wheelchair and Babar’s life was a rollercoaster of extreme ups and extreme lows. He was an inspiration…”

“Please help us make Babar’s (Boon Lott, the baby elephant) legacy a reality. We need your donations to secure the future of Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary.” Transcribed from “Elephants – Help Them”

Afterward: Although he fought so hard to live, Boon Lott (Babar) the baby elephant passed away on 26 June 2004. Within two years of his death Katherine Connor had secured the land she had hoped for and began the work to create the sanctuary for elephants she envisioned to honor the sweet little elephant. BLES continues to serve as his legacy today.