LAMPANG: Veterinarians are preparing to conduct an autopsy and then bury a wild bull elephant which died after a dramatic rescue.
Phlai Chomphu, who was between 15 and 20 years old, died on Saturday night, one day after the elephant was sent for treatment at the National Elephant Institute in Hang Chat district in Lampang from Phitsanulok.
Vet Nikorn Thongthip of the veterinary science faculty of Chiang Mai University said on Sunday the elephant died of kidney failure, likely brought on by extreme stress. "The veterinarian team have done their best to save this wild elephant," he told a media briefing.
Since the elephant was wild, the death has been reported to the Department of National Parks and Plant Conservation.
An autopsy to confirm the cause of death will be conducted by a team of veterinarians from the National Elephant Institute, and Kasetsart and Chiang Mai universities.
Dr Nikorn said that following the autsopsy, a religious ceremony will be held to bury the jumbo.
Phlai Chomphu had grabbed national attention after it was swept into a boggy canal by a flash flood in Noen Maprang district in Phitsanulok on Tuesday morning. The jumbo was pulled from the mud on Wednesday and transported to the Institute on Friday.