Ailing Thai elephant flew back from Sri Lanka

An ailing male Thai elephant called Muthu Raja in Sri Lanka was flown home from Sri Lanka yesterday for treatment and rehabilitation. “He arrived in Chiang Mai perfectly,” Thai Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said at the airport.

The Muthu Raja or the Sak Surin was loaded onto a special flight at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and flown back to Thailand.

According to foreign news reports, the 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) mammal arrived in Thailand just after 2 pm (0800 GMT), having been transported inside a specially constructed giant steel crate onboard an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane.

“He arrived in Chiang Mai perfectly,” Thai Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said at the airport.

Varawut helped give the elephant a drink after Muthu Raja’s decorated crate was removed from the plane, with the thirsty animal eagerly reaching his trunk through a hole to accept the water.

Originally gifted with two other Thai elephants to Sri Lanka in 2001 as a goodwill ambassador, Sak Surin, also known in Sri Lanka as Muthu Raja, had been mistreated for years, according to a complaint made by Rally for Animal Rights & Environment (Rare).

The elephant had been overworked and was not properly cared for, and subsequently became very thin and sick, said the Sri Lanka-based animal rights group. The elephant has also sustained some serious injuries, which made it unable to bend its left forelimb for eight years, Rare said.

Acting Director General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Attapol Charoenchansa has been stated to Thai media, an Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft was sent to Sri Lanka to bring the elephant, and after bringing the elephant to Thailand, the elephant will be taken care of at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand.

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