A sick elephant that Thailand had given to Sri Lanka as a gift more than two decades ago returned to its homeland for medical treatment on Sunday after allegations the animal was mistreated while living in a Buddhist temple.
The bull elephant, known in Sri Lanka as Muthu Raja, or Pearly King, and as Sak Surin, or Mighty Surin, in Thailand, flew directly from the capital of the South Asian island nation to Chiang Mai province in the north. from Thailand in a Russian Ilyushin IL. -76 cargo plane.
A six-person team, including two vets and four mahouts, or professional elephant trainers, accompanied the elephant on the flight, which lasted about six hours.
A special container was built to hold the 9-foot-tall, 4-ton pachyderm. Several mahouts went to Sri Lanka in advance to accustom the animal to being caged so that it would not panic during the trip to Thailand.
Video footage of its arrival in Chiang Mai showed the elephant conscious and apparently calm.
Thai Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa was at the airport and said the elephant landed in perfect condition. He previously said that Thailand spent at least $540,000 for the repatriation of the animal.
The pachyderm could be heard trumpeting from inside the container that was loaded onto a truck flatbed trailer for transport to the government Thai Elephant Conservation Center in nearby Lampang province, where it will be quarantined for at least 30 days and will remain for rehabilitation.
The elephant was shipped to Sri Lanka in 2001 when it was around 10 years old as a gift from the Thai royal family. It was one of three elephants Thailand handed over to the Sri Lankan government for training as bearers of religious relics. Mathu Raja was placed in the care of a Buddhist temple.
A Sri Lanka-based animal rights group, the Rally for Animal Rights and Environment group, alleged in 2020 that the animal was in poor health due to years of hard work and abuse, and needed urgent medical attention. The group started a petition calling for its rescue and later called for the elephant’s return to Thailand after the Sri Lankan government allegedly ignored complaints from activists.
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in November 2022 saying that the Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka conducted a preliminary investigation which concluded that the elephant was “not in good health and living in poor conditions.” The statement said Thailand would seek Sri Lanka’s approval to bring the elephant back for treatment.
The elephant was reported to be underweight, with rough skin and abscesses on both hips, thinning pads on its feet, and a stiff left front leg, making it difficult for it to walk and stand.
He was transferred from the Buddhist temple to the Sri Lanka National Zoological Garden for preliminary treatment and appeared healthier before his flight to Thailand.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told members of Parliament last month that during his visit to Thailand in May he expressed regret to his Thai counterpart over what had happened to the elephant.
Thai authorities have said the main purpose of bringing the animal back was for medical attention and whether it returns to Sri Lanka remains a matter for discussion with the Colombo government.
During a news conference in Bangkok last month, Thai Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said authorities would begin to inspect the health status of other Thai elephants in foreign countries. He said that exporting Thai elephants was already prohibited for conservation reasons.
