Sakor is the most recent elephant to join our group of elephants. He was rescued in 2012 from Botum Sakor National Park, which is located in Koh Kong province. Sakor, which means “ocean” in Khmer (as the national park borders the coastline), found himself in a difficult situation when the forests he called home were cleared for cash crops, such as sugar cane. In the end, he decided he quite liked sugar cane and would help himself, much to the dismay of the plantation owner.
This brought them into conflict very quickly. Sakor was content eating the sugar cane and living in the forests, but the plantation owner wanted him gone. Initially, the local people thought they could chase him away and he would leave, but Sakor wasn’t going to give up his home without a fight.
They tried scaring him and hurting him, which made the poor young elephant confused and angry. He would pass by nearby roads and stop the traffic, which scared the locals. In the end, Sakor became a threat to public safety by defending himself and venting his frustrations on whatever was nearby at the time.
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