Elephants who are rescued and brought to sanctuaries have been through all sorts of troubles. Some have lost family members to the cruelty of ivory poaching and others have been rescued from an abusive life in the zoo, circus, or tourism industry. Whatever the reason, these elephants are without a doubt traumatized and are in major need of love and care. Which is why sanctuary workers tend to go above and beyond to make these animals feel safe. They give the elephants trunk massages, help them get used to walking, and of course, provide plenty of snuggles!

Just take a look at the video above, where the founder of  Elephant Nature Park, Lek Chailert, cuddles up with an adorable baby elephant! These gentle giants clearly need affection like any other baby. In the wild, elephants live in huge herds and are extremely close-knit with their family members. When taken out from the wild, they still yearn for that sweet companionship. Just one look at this baby elephant’s face and you can see she can’t get enough of her human friend’s affection!

While ideally, we would like all elephants to remain in the wild and live their lives out in peace, we at least hope that every elephant gets the opportunity to experience this same love and affection. To learn more about the amazing work being done at Elephant Nature Park, visit their website!

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