Wish I could adopt one but no room in my sparse garden
The lure of high pay for hauling logs has exposed the elephants to this life-threatening danger. Each mahout receives 30,000-40,000 baht per elephant per month for hauling the logs. But they must find food for the elephants themselves.
Vets measure the artificial leg being made for Motala, a female elephant. She drew public sympathy after she was maimed by a landmine in the jungle of neighbouring Burma in 1999. Public donations of over four million baht are kept in a bank to look after her. — SOMSAK SUKSAI
"Over the past five years, more and more elephants have been wounded by landmines," said veterinarian Preecha Puangkham, director of the medical section at the Elephant Hospital in Lampang's Hang Chat district.
One of the hospital's patients, a female named Motala, captured the hearts of the nation after its struggle for life after treading on a mine in 1999. Its leg was mutilated and a prosthetic leg was made for it.
Since the hospital was opened in 1993, it has provided treatment to 2,825 elephants, said Dr Preecha.
At present, 447 elephants have been admitted to the in-patient wards and 20 need special treatment. The out-patients number almost 400.
The hospital said most elephants were treated for wounds sustained while hauling logs. A source said medical check-ups also revealed traces of narcotics in some elephants. Some mahouts admitted they mixed methamphetamines with bananas, which they gave to the elephants so they would work longer hours.
Dr Preecha said some elephants "decommissioned" from the job of log-hauling were taken to resorts to entertain tourists.
Lovely animals
