LAMPANG: A wild elephant saved in a dramatic rescue from a boggy canal in Phitsanulok arrived at the National Elephant Institute here on Friday for treatment of his injuries.
The young bull elephant was transported on a 10-wheeler from Noen Maprang district in Phitsanulok to the elephant centre in Hang Chat district, and looked exhausted after the overnight trip.
Thaweephok Angkhawanich, a veterinarian at the institute, said on Friday the elephant will be kept in an area near the forest rather than in a nursery kraal, because it is closer to his natural habitat.
The elephant, said to be aged 10-15 years, was swept into a steep-sided canal by a flash flood in the early hours of Tuesday morning and remained trapped and struggling until he was pulled from the mud by rescuers around mid-morning on Wednesday.
The youngster was exhausted and injured, and has barely been able to stand on his feet since then.