Meena and Edward : a tale of unlikely friendship

‘Meena’, a young elephant who was abandoned by her mother last year, has formed an unlikely friendship with ‘Edward’, a rooster, at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang.

The centre’s Facebook page has published a series of images showing Meena and Edward playing together, drawing hundreds of comments about their unique bond.

One of the photos which has attracted the most comments shows Meena appearing to give Edward a sweet glance.

Since her arrival last year, Meena has been a star of the centre and is known for her playful personality. Unaware of her size, she has been seen trying to cuddle her keepers and, of course, with Edward. She also has her own show, “Meet Meena,” at the centre.

Meena was found after falling into a well near Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in the north-eastern province of Buri Ram.

Veterinarians believe she was abandoned by her mother due to her poor health. As she was discovered in March, she was named ‘Meena’, which means "March" in Thai. Initially, efforts to reunite her with her herd failed. They did not come to retrieve her.

Her story went viral, with netizens closely following her progress. She was eventually moved to Lampang, where she found a new surrogate mother in ‘Sandee’.