Elephant Run

Mya is Nang's daughter and Indaw's sister. She is beautiful and admired among her village. She was born three weeks after Nick and grew up with him as a child. Mya is a lover of animals and is skilled at training and caring for them, much like her great-grandfather Hilltop. However, Mya's ambitions are shattered by the traditions of her community that state that women cannot become mahouts. However, Mya is resilient and proves herself when she escapes with Nick to rescue Jackson and Indaw. She becomes an animal trainer at the Freestone's ranch in Australia, breaking horses and riding a camel she names Miss Pretty.

Indaw is Nang's son and Mya's older brother. He is a skilled mahout and not as traditional as other Burmans—he believes his sister should be allowed to work with elephants despite her gender, and he even carves her the tools she needs to train the elephant Miss Pretty. Indaw is bubbly and full of joy and stories. He is well-liked, resilient, and loyal. He is a favorite of Jackson and Nick.

Jackson is Nick's father. He owns a teak plantation in Burma that has been in the family for three generations. Jackson was left behind when Nick's mother became anxious about the dangers of raising a child in Burma, and the two divorced. Jackson is intelligent, energetic, and has a keen business sense. He is empathetic and cares about his employees and the animals in his care. Despite being a British man in an occupied nation, he supports Burmese independence, even speaking to the British parliament about it before World War II. Jackson becomes a prisoner of war but manages to stay alive and is rescued while other prisoners die in droves around him.

Hilltop—or Taung Baw, as many villagers call him—is Mya's great-grandfather. He is a monk who was found by other mahouts on a hilltop. Hilltop left the plantation 60 years before the novel begins and returned when Mya was born. He is the first to meet Nick, and he defends the kids against Magwe's rage. He is also the most talented of all mahouts, and many claim he can speak to elephants in their own language. Hilltop met Sonji and Colonel Nagayoshi in his travels before the war and blames himself for the Japanese invasion of Hawk's Nest. He helps Nick and Mya escape by taming the traumatized bull elephant Hannibal. At the end of the novel, he decides to stay in Burma rather than escape to safety.

Colonel Nagayoshi is the commander in charge of the Japanese army in Burma when the Japanese initially invade Hawk's Nest. He practices his sword-fighting every day in the garden and takes pity on Nick because his own son and wife are in an internment camp in America. Colonel Nagayoshi also has a brutal streak, beheading soldiers who misbehave and anyone deemed a traitor. Colonel Nagayoshi is eventually displaced because the airfield blows up on his watch, and the Japanese army blames him for not heeding the warnings of his officers about the poor storage of explosives. 

Nang is the singoung, or foreman, of the teak plantation. He works for Jackson to manage the plantation business and the mahouts on staff. Nang is a kind father and a good man. During the takeover of Hawk's Nest, a Japanese soldier kills him.

Sergeant Sonji is an older, grey-haired Japanese soldier. At first, he confuses Nick, but Nick soon discovers Sonji’s kind and gentle nature and is grateful to be under his care during his captivity at Hawk's Nest. Sonji is a haiku master, professional gardener, and an old friend of Hilltop. Eventually, Sonji helps Nick rescue his father by staging Jackson's burial. At the end of the war, the prisoners stand up for Sonji as a pinnacle of courage, kindness, and mercy.

Magwe is a senior mahout and generational resident of the plantation. He resents Jackson for not making him foreman after generations of his family before him became singoung, and he believes Nang is a traitor to his people. Magwe accuses Jackson of working with the British colonizers. Magwe initially supports Japanese invasion, but after they take over Hawk's Nest, he is appalled by the way the Japanese treat the mahouts and villagers. He ultimately acts against the Japanese and assists Mya and Nick in their escape.

Bukong is a native Burman from one of the oldest families on the plantation. He is head of the household and Magwe's older brother. Bukong bears a grudge against the Freestones after an accident involving Hannibal and a tiger caused him to injure his leg, ending his career as a mahout. As a result, Bukong becomes a conspirator with the Japanese in the hopes of taking over Hawk's Nest after the war. Instead, Bukong is treated cruelly by Colonel Nagayoshi and dies in the same accident that kills Captain Moto.

Captain Moto is the right-hand man of the new commander, Rikko, who takes over after Colonel Nagayoshi is displaced. Moto is a rude, brutal man and an avid hunter of tigers. He is known for having a hot temper and no conscience. He nearly captures Nick, Mya, and Jackson but is killed when Hannibal overturns his Jeep.

Nick's mother works at the American Embassy in London during World War II and is married to a military intelligence officer named Bernard Culpepper. She sends Nick away to protect him and then reassigns herself to an Embassy in India after she learns of his capture by the Japanese.

Nick's great-grandfather and the man who established Hawk's Nest in Burma. He is often mentioned in reference to the Freestone heritage and family history.

Bernard is Nick's stepfather, an Army Intelligence officer whose job remains relatively mysterious throughout the novel, though Nick suspects he is an operative. Bernard is in France behind enemy lines in 1941 but soon moves to Burma to reclaim Hawk's Nest and rescue Nick. He does just that at the end of the novel, taking Nick, Mya, and Jackson to safety in India.