Vets dart injured elephant after overnight search

Park rangers and veterinarians at Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi are relieved to have cornered an injured elephant and treated an infected wound on its left hind leg using hypodermic darts fired from a remote injection rifle.

Suthichai Phophukieu, chief of the sanctuary, told a Thai PBS reporter that the mission was quite a challenge because the 40-year-old pachyderm, named ‘Seedor Diew’, was elusive and constantly on the move.

He said the elephant had been avoiding officials by hiding and moving through bushes within an area of about two square kilometres, adding that several other elephants were foraging in the area.

He said his men were divided into three groups. The first operated a drone to keep track of the elephant, the second conducted ground patrols to pursue it, and the third, a team of veterinarians, was equipped with remote injection rifles and antibiotics to treat its wounds.

The wildlife sanctuary chief said his men had been pursuing the elephant since yesterday morning. At about 9.30pm last night, the foot patrol team managed to locate the lone elephant foraging for food in Ban Wang Dang.

The vets were immediately alerted and, at about 1am this morning, managed to fire hypodermic darts into the animal. They remained at the scene to monitor the elephant's movements.

Suthichai said officials will continue monitoring the injured elephant's condition and assess whether further treatment is required.