A team of officials and experts, including veterinarians and park rangers, this afternoon rescued a wild elephant that was swept into a canal yesterday.
The 10-year-old elephant was trapped due to strong currents in a canal at Phitsanulok province’s Thung Saleng Luang National Park at roughly 1pm yesterday and remained in the water until only about 10 minutes before this story was published, despite the team’s best efforts, according to Thai PBS.
It was raining at the site, making the rescue even harder. Immediately after being pulled from the water, the elephant could be seen lying on its side and looking distressed.
Park rangers initially tried using machinery to create a level slope so that the pachyderm could walk out of the canal yesterday but, apparently, it was too exhausted from trying to fight off the current to walk out.
Veterinarian Dusita Chincharoendee, of Phitsanulok’s Management and Conservation Office, confirmed that the team tried the same thing again today but had warned villagers and onlookers to stay away since they likely frightened the elephant. That approach proved successful but let’s hope the animal is able to recover from the harrowing experience.
