JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
An ailing elephant that Thailand had presented to Sri Lanka more than two decades ago returned to his native land for medical treatment Sunday following allegations that the animal was badly abused while living at a Buddhist temple.
The male elephant, known in Sri Lanka as Muthu Raja, or Pearly King, and as Sak Surin, or Mighty Surin, in Thailand, was flown directly from the South Asian island nation’s capital to Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand on a Russian Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane.
A six-person team, including two veterinarians and four mahouts, or professional elephant trainers, accompanied the elephant on the flight, which took about six hours.
A special container was built to hold the 275-centimeter- (9-foot-) tall, 4-ton pachyderm. Several mahouts went to Sri Lanka in advance to accustom the animal to being caged so he wouldn’t panic during the trip to Thailand.
Video footage of
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