Staff Writer
Following a diplomatic row over the elephant’s alleged mistreatment, a Thai elephant that was given as a gift to Sri Lanka 20 years ago returned home on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Muthu Raja, also known as Sak Surin in his country of origin, was given to Sri Lanka by Thai officials in 2001.
However, they asked for the elephant’s return last year after hearing claims that it had been mistreated and tormented while being housed in a Buddhist temple.
The 8,800-pound (4,00 kilogram) creature, which was delivered by an Ilyushin Il-76 freight plane inside a specially made massive steel cage, touched down in Thailand just after 2:00 p.m. (08:00 GMT).
Varawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s environment minister, spoke from the airport: “He landed in Chiang Mai wonderfully.
He traveled for five hours, and his condition is normal; nothing is wrong.
He continued, “If everything goes well, we will move him,” alluding to the elephant’s confinement to a neighboring nature reserve.
Four Thai handlers and a Sri Lankan keeper took the elephant from its temporary residence at a zoo in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, before daybreak, while two CCTV cameras kept an eye on its wellbeing.
On a commercial repair flight that cost $700,000, according to Thai officials, it departed Colombo at 7:40 am (0210 GMT).
According to AFP, Madusha Perera, the zoo’s top veterinarian, Muthu Raja was in excruciating discomfort and covered in abscesses when it was rescued from the Buddhist temple last year.
Animal rights organizations said the elephant was mistreated after being made to work alongside a forestry team and suffering injuries, some of which were allegedly caused by its handler.
According to Perera, the elephant will receive hydrotherapy in Thailand to cure a persistent wound on its front left leg.
return negative
In Sri Lanka, elephants are revered and legally protected.
Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE), the group that spearheaded the effort to free Muthu Raja from the temple, voiced its disappointment over the animal’s departure.
Prior to its voyage, RARE organized a Buddhist blessing for the elephant. It has also petitioned the authorities to bring charges against individuals it claims are to blame for the animal’s maltreatment.
Thailand’s requests for the return of the elephant were described as “adamant” by Sri Lanka’s minister of wildlife, Pavithra Wanniarachchi.
In June, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena informed the legislature that he had personally apologized to the Thai king on behalf of Sri Lanka for the elephant’s predicament.
Thai environment minister Varawut announced that Thailand has banned exporting elephants while mentioning that Bangkok’s diplomatic missions are inspecting the welfare of elephants already exported abroad.
