APAD 145: Sambo the Elephant

This is Sambo, Phnom Penh’s resident elephant. He is now 53 years old and, until recently, he has been one of the lovable and enduring figures for visiting tourists and locals.

Finally, Sambo has retired from his “work” at Wat Phnom.

Sambo’s story is one that could be made into a Hollywood movie.

The Story of Sambo starts all the way back in the 1970’s when he was split up from his owners during the civil war and Khmer Rouge takeover and Sin Son. the boy who had raised Sambo had feared him to have perished along with so many others until after surviving the brutal Pol Pot regime he returned to his old village to find his only remaining neighbor who informed that Sambo had survived the Killing Fields but was now across the other side of Cambodia.

You can find more about his story here.