At 16, Saengduean witnessed an elephant being brutally beaten in the logging industry. That moment redirected her entire life toward animal welfare advocacy. Now she runs a sanctuary that has rescued hundreds of elephants and other animals across Thailand and Asia.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses trauma & healing, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you’re not alone — help is available:
• Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au
• Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
Saengduean grew up in a Karen hill tribe in Thailand where girls had few choices beyond motherhood and farmwork. Her mother defied community pressure to let her attend school 14 kilometres away, an act of courage that shaped Saengduean’s own willingness to stand against the grain. At 16, everything shifted. She witnessed loggers jabbing an elephant with knives, forcing it to haul massive logs uphill despite starvation and injury. When the elephant looked at her, its eyes full of fear and hopelessness, she knew her life had changed. She realised the elephant could not speak for itself. Someone had to. She worked as a dishwasher and took any job she could find to buy medicine and care for injured elephants in the jungle. Years of hardship and isolation followed, until a man from Texas offered her 50 acres of land when she had nothing. That single act of support became the foundation for the Save Elephant Foundation. Today, the sanctuary shelters hundreds of elephants, dogs, cats, horses, bears, and other animals rescued from circus, riding camps, and street begging. Saengduean has faced threats, physical danger, and backlash from industries that profit from animal suffering, yet she continues. Her grandfather taught her that true happiness comes from lifting others out of pain.
🕒 CHAPTERS:
00:00 Meeting Tongkam, the first elephant
01:45 Learning from her grandfather
03:14 Her mother’s choice to let her study
06:44 Raising piglets while learning empathy
09:53 The elephant’s eyes that changed everything
12:50 Working nights to buy medicine
17:01 What true happiness means
19:05 Fifty acres and a second chance
23:18 Threats from those profiting off suffering
27:11 From aggression to affection: Namtip’s recovery
29:51 How lullabies healed the herd
32:32 Education and change through social media
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📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Save Elephant Foundation: saveelephant.org
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