Vets race to treat sick elderly elephant in Buri Ram forest

A team of veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has been closely monitoring the movements of a sick and aging elephant in a forest in Lahansai district of Thailand's northeastern province of Buri Ram in an effort to provide it with medical treatment and nutritional supplements.

According to Somsuan Raksat, chief of the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in Buri Ram, the elephant, designated DY M 001, was spotted by villagers on Wednesday in a forest in Samrong Mai subdistrict with several wounds on its body.

Three days later, a team of veterinarians and volunteers arrived to track the elephant and monitor its movements and condition.

They observed that the animal has a habit of soaking in a pond from midday until evening, occasionally shifting its body from side to side, apparently to relieve pain from its wounds and cool itself in the scorching heat.

The elephant can still walk, although quite slowly due to its advanced age, estimated at around 60 years old. Veterinarians have assessed its body condition score at 2.5 out of 5.

Somsuan said that, for the elephant's safety, officials need to act quickly to sedate it so they can approach and administer medication to treat its wounds and improve its health with nutritional supplements.