On 17 January 2025, Mr. Puwit Wisartsakul, Chargé d'Affaires a.i., together with Mrs. Apijaya Wisartsakul, his spouse, led officials and spouse as well as staff members of the Royal Thai Embassy in Copenhagen, to visit Thai elephants at Copenhagen Zoo which symbolize the close relations between Thailand and Denmark. At present, the Copenhagen Zoo houses three Thai elephants, namely Kungrao (26 years old), Surin (25 years old), and Mun (4 years old, born at Copenhagen Zoo on 1 October 2020). It is also one of the activities that the Embassy held for its staff members to learn about the history of Thai-Danish relations, history of Thai elephants in Denmark, the operations of the Zoo and to feed the elephants with some food and fruits.
The Embassy’s delegation was welcomed by Mrs. Pernille Mehl, CEO of the Zoo, and Mr. Mads Bertelsen, Zoology Director, and gave a presentation on the experience of treating Mun who was infected with herpes virus (EEHV). The Zoo is pleased to exchange knowledge about animal husbandry technology with Thailand as well as cooperation in research and development of vaccines to prevent EEHV virus infection in elephants.
On this occasion, the Charge d'Affaires a.i. expressed his gratitude to the Zoo which has taken good care of Thai elephants for the past 62 years and complies with both Danish and EU rules and regulations for the well-being and welfare of animals as well as for saving the life of Mun from EEHV infection and pleased that the Zoo has cooperation programme in animal husbandry with Thailand. In addition, the Charge d'Affaires a.i. also informed the Zoo that the Thai government has designated March 13th of every year as the "Thai Elephant Day" to increase public awareness on the importance of elephant which is the national animal of Thailand and to join hand in preserving Thai elephants. The Zoo viewed that it is an appropriate date to plan an activity about Thai elephants in the Zoo.
Elephants symbolize the close and long-lasting relations between Thailand and Denmark at all levels from the royal families to the peoples. In 1962, His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother presented two elephants, Chiangmai (male) and Buag Hah (female) to His Majesty the late King Frederick IX and Her Majesty the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. Later, in 2001 on the occasion of Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II state visit to Thailand, Their Majesties presented two more elephants to Her Majesty, namely Tonsak (male) and Kungrao (female). In addition, the people of Surin Province of Thailand gave a female elephant named Surin as a gift to the people of Denmark.
Chiangmai has passed away in 2017 at the age of 58 and was known as the “Grandfather of Elephants” as it fathered most of all elephants in zoos across Europe. Buag Hah has passed away in 1996 while Tonsak has been on loan to a Swedish zoo as a breeding bull since 2015.