If you follow us on Facebook you will have read of the sudden, tragic and devastating death of 17-month-old TONKAO
on Monday 17 June 2019. This was a terrible loss to STEF trustee and Chair of STEF Thailand, Jakrapob Thaotad, and his colleagues at Phang Nga Elephant Park. The demise of this young, healthy and fun-loving youngster was deeply felt by many people around the world but particularly intensely by those who live and work with Jake and his elephant family.
TONKAO (whose name meant ‘rice seedling’) succumbed
to Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV), one of the most devastating viral infections affecting young, fit Asian elephants. Scientists remain unclear how elephants get infected by the virus, where the virus persists, and what mechanisms drive the sudden deadly effects of the disease. A Buddhist service was held in her honour and she was buried in a family plot near to the Park.
A campaign has been started in memory of 
TONKAO to help sponsor the rapid completion of the new STEF Thailand elephant veterinary centre. This clinic will ensure that elephants that are acutely sick receive fast, professional veterinary diagnosis and treatment. At present the nearest dedicated elephant hospital is over four hours’ drive away.
As you know, the building is already underway but we need more money to try and complete it this year to provide lifesaving treatments for the elephant population across the region.
Help make it happen by making a donation to STEF
Isolated locations with no mains electricity supply either have to make do without electricity, or generate their own. For our new veterinary clinic, Southern Thailand Elephant Foundation Thailand have opted for a renewable electricity generation system using solar power to generate the energy needed. 
renewable energy, we have been able to plan for our needs now as the office and laboratory for the new 
veterinary clinic are being built. The roof will accommodate the solar panels needed to generate electricity and provide clean energy for lighting, air-conditioning and for the the pump to draw water from the bore hole to the storage tank at the rear of the clinic.
and an appropriate system has now been agreed. The layout, arc of the sun, and compass position of the building where the panels will be fixed are all key elements. We also have to remember that in the rainy season less sun gets through to generate electricity so there needs to be plenty of battery storage and the ability to add more panels or batteries later.
Our Chairman, Andrew Higgins, has just returned from a visit to Ban Ton Sae where he met fellow trustee, and Chair of STEF Thailand, Jake Thaotad. Jake gave Andrew a thorough update on the development program, the construction works and there were many discussions on future plans, but of course the pace will always depend on funding. Clearly, the Elephant Veterinary Clinic is a priority and during his stay in Thailand, Andrew also
arranged meetings with the former Head of Krabi Elephant Hospital, Dr Khajohnpat Boonprasert, an experienced elephant clinician, now based in Chiang Mai, to discuss design and operational issues.
Most of the tracks and drains have now been completed (left) and the next stage is to lay the foundations for the main clinic, and this work is scheduled to start in the next few weeks. Pillars will also be embedded ready to take the roof, and the office and lab will be built adjacent to the main foundations. The flooring is most important and must be reinforced to take the weight of one or more elephants. 
The project manager will also want to plan carefully for the off-loading and re-loading of elephants onto trucks via a carefully designed recess (right) known as a ha-ha (the origin may come from Old English meaning hedge but some say it reflects the surprise when used in a garden as a landscape feature (‘Ah ah’ or ‘Ha ha!), who knows?
Using a drone, we have been able to capture some amazing views of the new site at Ban Ton Sae. It shows clearly how much has been achieved in a very short time. Our thanks are due to the two technicians
from Monosun who took the shots as part of their survey for the site’s renewable energy needs (more on that later).
needed to complete the work before the rains. The underlying surfaces had to be prepared, drains laid, and reinforced concrete thick enough to carry the weight of a truck carrying an elephant had to be laid. We took professional advice on the necessary strength of the concrete and are waiting now to test it out. At the top of the photo left, you can see the three pools that we have dredged and restored, and to the north of the pools will be the education centre. The clinic is at the southern border of the site and has been prepared ready for laying the concrete foundations in June 2019.
We are really beginning to feel things are coming together now and we will keep you fully informed of the latest news. Thank you very much for your continuing support and for following us on 
STEF is helping to fund a much-needed veterinary clinic near Khok Kloi in Southern Thailand by supporting our sister charity, known as STEF Thailand, which is registered as a charity in Thailand and whose Chairman is Jakrapob Thaotad, known to all as Jake. Here is a 
Jake’s passion for the Asian elephant is well known and he gave up a promising career as a medical scientist in London to return to Thailand to work with elephants, to promote their care and welfare, using Education as a principle tool to achieve his objectives. Of course Jake wants the international community to know and share in his love for the elephant and to be aware of its status as an endangered species, but, equally, he is very aware of the importance of the elephant in Thailand’s culture and is determined that the knowledge of his family, which has worked with elephants for over 150 years, does not die out and is shared with future generations of Thai children and students.
So while the contractors were on site feverishly completing the main roads around the site, we asked them also to include accompanying drains. These too must be properly laid with concrete on a compacted base. In this part of Southern Thailand where there is a long rainy season, drainage is so important. Of course it does not rain all the time but when it does it can be very heavy and roads can be washed away!
With the rains due to start in the next couple of weeks we are so pleased that our builders have pulled out all stops and we are confident they will complete the roadway and tracks at the site right on schedule. One very important aspect was drainage – and this was a serious part of the cost of the work – as the rain can be so heavy 
there would have been a real danger of parts of the newly laid concrete being washed away. Also, the layers of concrete could only be laid on carefully prepared with crushed stone and sand to achieve the desired load-bearing capacity and absorb loads that will include trucks carrying one or two elephants, as well as lorries full of builders’ materials for the 
next stages of development.
please let us know by 
With the rainy season fast approaching, our workforce are flat out getting the tracks laid so we can continue building in the rain. There is quite a slope up to the Veterinary Centre so lorries and trucks could not get to the building site without a strong road. This means solid foundations, 
reinforced concrete and excellent drainage – you can imagine what the rains in Thailand are like in the wet season!
Planning permission came through last month and we are progressing as fast as funds will allow. We need more money to complete the much-needed clinic so if you can help us to fund raise please let us know. Just click on the 
When the monks advised it was an auspicious day, we arranged a special blessing at the new site of our elephant Veterinary Centre near Ban Ton Sae. We invited a deeply respected and venerable monk, Phra Sirindhorn, to visit and offer prayers that the constructions works now underway would be completed successfully.
Such an age-old ceremony leads to a spiritual boost for the construction team and provides great confidence in their workmanship. The date for the ceremony, the location of the central pillar and the items to be used in the ceremony are all 
carefully chosen and reflect centuries of tradition. We include sacred woods, gold leaf, gold, silver and bronze coins and a holy thread, all with very special meanings. The offerings were buried alongside flowers and sealed in concrete, as tradition dictates.
With the rainy season arriving in only a few weeks’ time STEF Thailand has had to move fast to finalise planning permission and to get to work on the road on the new site. This is not a small job! About 270 metres of track, 4 m wide, will be laid from the entrance to the site, along the bottom of the valley and up the hill to the Veterinary Centre.
there has to be efficient and very effective drainage so the road is not washed away. In addition, the track surface has to be reinforced and strong enough to take trucks carrying 5-ton elephants.
and our expert advisers, STEF Thailand has this week instructed the contractor to start work. Here you can see Jake deep in discussions just a few days’ ago before the work got underway. Time is against us, however, because if the road is not completed 
before the rains come, building works on the Centre itself will have to be delayed until after the rainy season ends in October.
regular News updates of progress.