Conservationist is up to the tusk
Ex-Toronto firefighter has dedicated his life to helping elephants in Thailand
A herd of mighty elephants rushes, trumpeting down a river, seemingly charging toward a man standing in the middle of the flowing water.
But these gentle giants seem delighted, not angry, as they splishsplash their way toward the man, who beckons them with loud calls, hands cupped around his mouth.
As they approach him, the elephants surround the man seemingly in an embrace, ears flapping and trunks raised.
This scene is from a video recently shared on Twitter with the caption, “Elephants reunite with their caretaker after 14 months.”
Their caretaker is Darrick Thomson, a former Toronto firefighter who has now dedicated his life to the conservation of elephants at a sanctuary in northern Thailand.
The video of Thomson has amassed millions of views on Twitter, with thousands of people thanking the original poster for sharing the video.
The sanctuary, located at the Elephant Nature Park, is where 109 rescued elephants reside. Thomson describes the rescue facility as a “space for them to live and abide forever,” noting that it allows the elephants to rehabilitate and bond as friends and family.
After 10 months in Cambodia, where he created an enclosure for an elephant rescued from Pakistan, and an additional four months in Canada, attending to his ill father, Thomson returned to Thailand on Dec. 5 to the reunion, captured on video, with a herd of friendly elephants in the Mae Taeng river.
“He’s got a heart of gold and wouldn’t even hurt an insect,” says Hanna Tower, a producer at Slogan Entertainment now based in Toronto. “These people are just so dedicated to their cause. It’s amazing how much trouble and how many obstacles they have to face constantly.”
Tower is working on a biopic about Lek Chailert, a conservationist and elephant rights activist who started the Save Elephant Foundation and the Elephant Nature Park. Chailert is married to Thomson, whom she met in 2006, and the couple now run the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
“I was mesmerized by her,” Thomson said of meeting Chailert while visiting the park with a friend.
A month later he found himself back in Thailand, doing construction projects and getting to know Chailert, before finding another love: elephants.
The sanctuary is dedicated to rescuing mistreated elephants from across Thailand.
But they never say no to an animal in need, housing other species as well, including more than 600 dogs and 700 water buffalo.
Tower said Chailert wanted to build a park that was “a luxury for the elephants, not the people,” and Thomson now helps achieve her dream, keeping the park running as Chailert advocates for the freedom of elephants across Asia.
Tower dubbed them “the angels of the forest.”
There’s a lot to learn from animals, especially elephants, Thomson said. “There’s too many of us and little left of their habitat. We should emulate their way of living and sustain natural environments.”
Thomson had been separated from the elephants in Thailand since October 2020, when he went to Cambodia to help with Kaavan, formerly known as “the world’s loneliest elephant.” Kaavan had been in a zoo in Pakistan since 1985. In 2020, with the help of people like Chailert, Thomson, and even musical icon Cher, he was transported to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, a branch of Save Elephant Foundation, where he now roams freely with other elephants.
Thomson helped build Kaavan’s 30-acre enclosure, a happy ending given the elephant’s limited space in the Islamabad zoo.
When Thomson returned to Thailand, he received a warm welcome from his elephant friends.
One elephant in particular, Khamla, who is the youngest of a family of 19, greeted Thomson with extreme enthusiasm. Khamla was four when she was rescued in 2015.
“I’ve grown up with her here since that time. And we have a very close special bond,” he said.
Thomson can be heard shouting Khamla’s name in the video. “The whole family treats me as their own,” he said.