Elephants and other sick animals evacuated from flooded shelter

[webfact]

National park officials, boats and FWD trucks are rushing to an elephant conservation centre in Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai to evacuate about 100 elephants and hundreds of other animals, as floodwater reaches two metres and is still rising.

 

Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said today that the rescue operation is being hampered because all roads leading to the Elephant and Environment Conservation Foundation centre are heavily flooded.

He also said that more volunteers are needed to help the first group of about 50 people, from the Sri Lanna National Park and from Chiang Dao district, who are already on their way to the scene, adding that a request for more boats has been submitted to the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

 

Even though elephants enjoy being in water, Atthaphon said that staying in it too long in water can cause problems and some of them in the conservation centre are not tame.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 

-- 2024-10-04