‘Jumbo’ birth at Anantara Resort Golden Triangle

The Elephant Camp at Anantara Resort Golden Triangle welcomes it’s first ever baby elephant to be born in the camp! After 22 months of tender loving care, Makam, the Elephant Camp’s 20 year old Asian elephant delivered a female calf of jumbo proportions. The latest member of the Anantara family tips the scales at about 90 kilos.

The Camp has been trumpeting the arrival of the baby elephant, who was up and walking just minutes after she was born in darkness of the early hours of August 14, while Mahouts kept watch close by.

One month later, mother and baby are doing very well and have settled into ‘family life’ in the Camp. As is traditional in Thailand, the baby elephant has two names, an official one for the ‘birth certificate’ - Pang Nam Khong, and a nick-name for daily use Nong Nam Fon.

Nam Khong is the Thai name for the Mekong and Nam Fon means rain - both are appropriate to the middle of the wet season in the historic and enchanting Golden Triangle area. It was important that her name reflect her place of birth and her nickname was decided by the Mahouts because she was born in a storm.

John Robert’s, Director of Elephants commented, “This is the first ever elephant to be born in the Camp and it was a completely natural birth, without any complications. Makam’s simply the best mother we could hope for and it is a joy to watch her nurturing her new baby”.

Anantara’s 160 acres of bamboo forest, nature trails and river banks provide an ideal habitat for the elephants, all of whom have been rescued for a life begging on the street of major cities such as Bangkok and Pattaya.

An undisputed highlight of a guest’s stay at Anantara Resort Golden Triangle is a visit to the elephant camp. Set within the resort’s lush bamboo forest, the camp is home to 19 elephants. The animals are cared for by their local Mahouts (drivers) and English-born Director of Elephants, John Roberts who is also a qualified mahout himself.

On an on-going basis, Roberts works closely with the Thai government’s Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang (located 600km north of the Thai capital Bangkok) to develop Anantara’s camp as an elephant sanctuary.

Guests are also offered the rare opportunity to learn to ‘drive’ an elephant by choosing to undertake a unique three-day mahout training course. As well as learning the mahout commands and some log rolling skills, guests can take their pachyderm charge bathing, partake in mahout camp life and gain a greater understanding of their three-tonne mount from Roberts.

Anantara Resort Golden Triangle is located 60km north of Chiang Rai’s international airport. For enquiries and reservations, visit Anantara.com.

Anantara is taken from an ancient Sanskrit word that means 'borderless water', a name chosen for this element’s association in many Asian cultures with wealth and good fortune. Inspired by local architecture and sensitive to the indigenous culture, Anantara Resorts are currently located in the seaside town of Hua Hin (220kms south of Bangkok), on Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand and in the Golden Triangle in the country’s north.

In the world-renowned destination of the Maldives, Anantara Resort Maldives is a 30 minute boat ride from the capital Male. The newest member of the Anantara family, Anantara Resort Seminyak, will open at the end of 2007 in this most fashionable district of Bali – the Island of the Gods.