Eleven-year-old elephant NamWang gave birth at 2am on the 8th of December 2020. She was a first-time mother who accepted her calf. Following a 21-month pregnancy, the birth went smoothly. The afterbirth came out on the 8th of December at 10am after the mother elephant had gone into labour for a period of eight hours.
Following the birth, the owner and mahout tried to bring the calf to the breast in order to support the calf to drink milk from his mother, but without success. Furthermore, the mahout had no experience in caring for a newborn elephant calf. So, the owner delivered mother and calf to FAE Elephant Hospital. They arrived at 14.21 on the 9th of December 2020.
Upon early examination, the mother elephant was accepting her calf well, and allowed the calf to drink milk from her breast. The mother’s breasts were full, and breastmilk would flow forth upon squeezing. The milk would come out in a clear yellow colour.
The baby elephant was small and thin, and weighed around 60 kilograms. He was incapable of attaching his mouth to the breast and taking milk directly from his mother.
Baby Thanwa was small and thin when he and his mother arrived at FAE Elephant Hospital. The calf weighed around 60 kilograms.
FAE keepers then set out to help the calf take milk from his mother. The mother elephant was tethered to a short chain. From 14.21 onwards since their arrival at FAE Elephant Hospital, attempts were made to push the calf up close to his mother’s breast. At 14.50, the calf began to successfully take milk from the breast (the actual drinking lasted four seconds). This happened while the calf was being supported and pushed from the back, and the mother’s breast was held for him to drink from.
Following that first instance of success, the calf managed to take milk from the breast from interval to interval, while being supported by those around him. The calf alternated between standing while sleeping and lying down on his side to sleep.
At 17.49, the calf managed to take milk from the breast without having to be supported. Following that early success, the calf breastfed on his own from time to time, with each drinking session lasting one minute to just over one minute. All this was done while the mother elephant was restrained on a short chain; food was given to the mother to direct her attention and help her to keep still.
At 23.30, the mother elephant was then put on a long chain to reduce her stress levels. The calf was allowed to continue with his attempts at drinking milk on his own.
“Let’s take your measurements now, little man!” Dr. Kay and keeper Songkran take measurements for Baby Thanwa. Photo taken on 10 December 2020. Length: 94 cm Height: 84 cm Chest: 104.5 cm Weight: Around 60 kg
On 16 December 2020, Director Dr. Kay, Dr. Ton and head keeper Charan discussed amongst themselves, and came to a conclusion that the baby elephant should drink milk from the mother first until the baby is full. Then, goat’s milk could be brought in as an addition. The mother elephant would keep on being nourished, so that she could produce more milk. Once the mother produced more milk, the goat’s milk could slowly be fed less and less. We then began experimenting with getting the baby elephant to drink goat’s milk. When the syringe ball was introduced, the baby didn’t know how to drink from it. But, with practice over time, the baby managed to drink well.
On 19 December 2020, we began to feed the baby elephant rice water along with goat’s milk (800 cc of rice water and 50 cc of goat’s milk). The baby drank these additions three times (300, 400, 250 cc), an amount of 950 cc altogether. We fed him every three hours (starting from 19.48). The vet then adjusted the proportions of the additional drinks to three units of rice water and one unit of goat’s milk.
Baby Thanwa and his mother NamWang in January 2021.
During the early stages of breastfeeding, the mother elephant would be restrained by a short chain during the daytime, which allows her baby to drink her milk with greater ease. This is NamWang’s first calf, and therefore she had no previous breastfeeding experience. NamWang was also the kind of elephant that didn’t like to keep still. She had a tendency to move about.
During the night, the mother elephant would be tethered to a long chain, which allowed her to lie down comfortably. By January 2021, the baby elephant was already drinking his mother’s milk every 20 – 30 minutes. In most cases, after the baby finished his goat’s milk drinking session, he would go to his mother to drink her milk. This is why the mother elephant needed to be restrained on a short chain, so that these daytime activities could be properly accommodated.
While the mother elephant had to be restrained on short chains for long periods, for the sake of greater convenience in breastfeeding her calf, it is important to note that the mother could potentially suffer from stress as a result. And, therefore, these methods must be put into practice with great care and caution.
Baby Thanwa in January 2021.Baby Thanwa in March 2021.Baby Thanwa in April 2021.
In October 2021, Baby Thanwa reached his ten-month anniversary, which is the right age to begin training him to become accustomed to having chains on and around his body parts. Chains will become an important part of his care and husbandry as he grows older. (In the case of domestic elephants in human care, chains are essential equipment used to instruct the elephant to stay put during the appropriate times and in the appropriate places. This is so that the elephant doesn’t go wandering off into agricultural zones, or to places where danger may potentially occur to the elephant, to people, and to the surrounding environment.)
We started out by getting the baby elephant to wear a rope around his neck. Once Baby Thanwa properly adjusted to equipment guiding him by the neck, he would be attached by the rope to his mother. The baby would walk around within the rehabilitation unit while attached to his mother, so that he would get used to being guided in such a way. After that, mother and calf would come out for walks together outside the enclosure.
Baby Thanwa and his mother NamWang in November 2022.
วัดขนาดตัวช้างน้อยธันวา วันที่ 8 เมษายน 2566:
– ความยาวลำตัว 236 ซม. ยาว ขึ้น 2 ซม.
– สูง 151 ซม. สูงขึ้น 1 ซม.
– รอบอก 251 ซม. เพิ่มขึ้น 4 ซม.
Measurements of Baby Thanwa taken on 8 April 2023:
Length: 236 cm; the calf has grown longer by 2 cm
Height: 151 cm; the calf has grown taller by 1 cm
Chest: 251 cm; the measurement around the calf’s chest has increased by 4 cm
Chest measurements of Baby Thanwa from 9 December 2020 to 8 April 2023.Height measurements of Baby Thanwa from 9 December 2020 to 8 April 2023.
This is a photo of Thanwa and his surrogate mother who is guiding him in his training. Upon enquiry, Director Dr. Kay learned that Thanwa had his name changed to “NamNeua”. The instructor who was training the calf changed his name, due to conclusions drawn following the astrological interpretation of the elephant’s birthdate. Since he is a bull, the name Thanwa was believed to turn the calf into an aggressive elephant that would be difficult to train and control. So, a new name was given to the calf.
The photo was taken towards the end of May 2023. By that time, the calf had become more still, and had been able to follow verbal instructions to a large degree.
Elephant patients at FAE Elephant Hospital are treated and cared for, until the day they are discharged. When we have news of those elephants living happy, healthy lives, we here at FAE are always overjoyed.
Special thanks to the owner of elephant calf Thanwa for sending us photos and clips of Baby Thanwa and friends. This is the news we received in December 2023 that made us all so happy.
On the 8th of December 2023, bull elephant Thanwa reached his third anniversary. Happy Birthday, Thanwa! May you be strong and healthy, and grow into a nice and wonderful gentleman elephant in the future.