More than 100 volunteers have come to the aid of a stricken wild elephant who has been stuck in mud for a week in eastern Thailand, local officials said on Thursday.
The elderly pachyderm, called Plai Khun Song, was unable to stand up after he took a rest in a mud hole in a sanctuary in Chanthaburi province, 245km east of Bangkok, district chief Viwat Chantanurak said.
”There are more than 100 villagers, defence volunteers, veterinarians and mahouts working to help him,” he told Agence France-Presse. ”But he is very old, about 50 years old, and his right rear leg is handicapped.”
Viwat said this is the third time that Plai Khun Song has got into difficulty since he was isolated by his group due to his lame leg.
”This time is very serious. He cannot stand up. But one good thing is that he eats everything villagers give him,” Viwat said.
Helpful villagers have been plying the elephant with bananas, sugar cane and pineapple. Viwat said that a vet visited on Wednesday and gave Plai Khun Song a saline drip in his ear.
He said that mahouts — the name given to elephant keepers and handlers — will on Thursday use elephants from the central city of Ayutthaya, 300km away, to try and rescue the lame beast from the mud hole.
”What worries me is that some well wishers could hurt him. For example, some said they wanted to use a truck to pull him up, but that could hurt him if he is not strong enough,” Viwat said. – AFP
