A heartwarming video from Thailand’s Elephant Nature Park shows Faa Mai, an elephant, gently placing her foot on caretaker Lek Chailert’s lap while she sings, showcasing the deep bond and trust between them.
Chailert believes Faa Mai’s gesture signifies deep appreciation, underscoring the intense connection they’ve formed.
This heart warming moment has caught the attention of the netizens between an elephant and its caretaker, Lek Chailert, that spotlights the emotional intelligence of elephants.
Chailert is the founder of the Save Elephant Foundation. An elephant, Faa Mai, is seen in the viral video shared by him on his Instagram handle, gently placing its foot on the caretaker’s lap while she sings to it.
The clip has now been making the rounds on the internet, showing a unique display of comfort and trust between the two and sparking equallly discussions around the emotional intelligence of elephants.
The video was shot at the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The elephant in the video, Faa Mai, rushes to Chailert while she sits down on the ground and sings to her.
As the singing continues, Faa Mai wraps its trunk around her and softly rests one leg across her lap- a gesture that was completely natural and spontaneous.
The caretaker of Faa Mai wrote on her Instagram post, “Every time I sing to Faa Mai, she shows me in a hug—forgetting that her feet are very heavy!
But in that moment, her gentle heart makes even the weight of an elephant feel light.”
She continued to describe the connection between elephants and humans: “Elephants, like humans, have deep emotions—but their ability to express love, joy, and gratitude is truly extraordinary. The more we learn about elephants, the more we come to love and admire them.”
The post has already crossed 400K views and has been shared widely across platforms.
Netizens' hearts melted over the affectionate moment, and it has led to a wave of reactions from around the world.
Many users called the interaction moving and reflective of the deep bond that can exist between humans and animals.
One user commented, “The mutual love between Lek and Sloni is beautiful, amazing, and touching.”
Another remarked, “The bond between those two is so heartwarming. Fahmai’s foot on Saengduean Lek’s knee, mom kissing it… There is so much love (with a heart emoji).”
Others highlighted the importance of reading animals’ emotional signals, with a user writing, “ This is truly heartwarming, a loving bond difficult to express in words, which do not begin to cover the depth of feeling Faa Mai has for Lek…Balm for the soul…”
Elephants showcase remarkable emotional depth, forming lasting bonds, experiencing grief, and retaining memories of individuals even after being released into sanctuaries where they’re free from harm, allowing them to thrive and display affectionate behaviours, like Faa Mai’s attachment to her caretaker.