Veterinarians treat wild elephant hurt in colossal fight
A wildlife rescue team rushed to Rayong’s Khao Chamao district on Tuesday to treat “Coke”, a wild pachyderm who was injured in his leg after a thundering battle with another elephant.
Protected Areas Regional Office 2 (Sriracha) veterinarian Dr Sunita Wingwon said officials initially faced difficulty in treating the elephant as it lived in a forest.
“Hence, officials decided to use an immobilising dart so they could check the elephant closely,” she said.
Sunita said a wound of approximately 15 centimetres on Coke’s right front leg was due to the goring he received from the other elephant’s tusk.
"Veterinarians cleaned the wound, treated it with anaesthetic and applied anti-inflammatory medicine to it,” she explained.
The Siraman forest protection unit is now monitoring Coke’s symptoms and protecting the animal from other elephants, Sunita added. The unit has also been instructed to report on Coke’s progress to the veterinarian team periodically.
