A month-old baby elephant was rescued by Smart Patrol rangers from a hole it had fallen into at Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi last night, Matichon newspaper said today (May 8).
Veterinarian Phattaraphon Manee-on at the Department of Natural Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said a team of Smart Patrol rangers patrolling this sanctuary heard a baby elephant crying and when they got to the two-meter wide and five-meter deep hole it had fallen into they found a lot of elephant footprints around it.
This baby elephant looked exhausted as it had tried very hard to get out of the hole.
“It was already dark and raining lightly and making things more difficult for the rangers was that the herd of elephants was nearby.
“The rangers threw a gunny bag tied to ropes on all four corners in and coaxed the baby jumbo to get on it and then pulled it up.
“Luckily it is small and did not weigh more than a hundred kilograms,” Phattaraphon said.
Once up on the ground the rangers fed the baby elephant because it had pushed itself to the limit in trying to save itself.
Phattaraphon added that the reason the baby jumbo fell into the hole is because it’s now the rainy season and elephants have to change their routes either because the ones they are familiar with are flooded or blocked with toppled trees and they do not know the new terrain.
The department’s head Thanya Netithammakul has sent a letter on this issue to his superiors urging that the risks of forest runoffs and mudslides be quickly checked for the safety of tourists with this also helping the wildlife.
CAPTION:
Top: The baby elephant after the rangers rescued it. Photo: Matichon
Inset: The hole in the sanctuary the baby jumbo had fallen into. Photo: Matichon
Comments
