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Neglected elephant touches down in Thai homeland after flight

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Rose TROUP BUCHANAN, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Elephant keepers led an ailing Thai elephant named Sak Surin, also known as " Muthu="" to="" the="" flight="" cage="" for="" his="" back="" Thailand="" from="" National="" Zoological="" Garden="" in="" Dehiwala="" Suburb="" of="" Sri="" July="" Sak="" Surin="" is="" a="" elephant="" received="" by="" Lanka="" as="" gift="" Thai="" government="" After="" two="" ailing="" was="" flown="" on="" charter="" plane="" receive="" medical="" care.="" Chamila="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/07/02/070223_thai-elephant_epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Elephant keepers led an ailing Thai elephant named Sak Surin, also known as &#x27;Muthu Raja&#x27;, to the flight cage for his flight back to Thailand from the National Zoological Garden in Dehiwala Suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 1, 2023. Sak Surin is a 29-year-old elephant received by Sri Lanka as a gift from the Thai government in 2001. After two decades, the ailing elephant was flown back to Thailand on a charter plane on July 1 to receive medical care. Chamila Karunarathne, EPA-EFE.</figcaption></figure></div>BANGKOK, Thailand -- A Thai elephant gifted to Sri Lanka two decades ago arrived back in its birth country Sunday, following a diplomatic spat over the animal&#x27;s alleged mistreatment.Thai authorities had gifted the 29-year-old Muthu Raja -- also known back in its birthplace as Sak Surin -- to Sri Lanka in 2001.But they demanded the elephant back last year after allegations that it was tortured and neglected while kept at a Buddhist temple.The 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) mammal arrived in Thailand just after 2 pm (0800 GMT), having been transported inside a specially constructed giant steel crate onboard an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane.&quot;He arrived in Chiang Mai perfectly,&quot; Thai environment minister Varawut Silpa-archa said at the airport.&quot;He travelled five hours and nothing is wrong, his condition is normal.&quot;&quot;If everything goes well, we will move him,&quot; he added, referring to plans to quarantine the elephant at a nearby nature reserve.Varawut helped give the elephant a drink after Muthu Raja&#x27;s decorated crate was removed from the plane, with the thirsty animal eagerly reaching his trunk through a hole to accept the water.The elephant could be seen when officials briefly opened the crate&#x27;s rear doors and it was sprayed.Muthu Raja was moved from its temporary home at a zoo in Sri Lanka&#x27;s capital Colombo before dawn, accompanied by four Thai handlers and a Sri Lankan keeper, with two CCTV cameras monitoring its health in transit.It left Colombo at 7:40 am (0210 GMT) on a commercial reparation flight that Thai officials said cost $700,000.Muthu Raja was in pain and covered in abscesses when it was rescued from the Buddhist temple last year, the zoo&#x27;s chief veterinarian, Madusha Perera, told AFP.Animal welfare groups said the elephant had been forced to work with a logging crew and that its wounds, some allegedly inflicted by its handler, had been neglected.The elephant will undergo hydrotherapy in Thailand to treat a remaining injury on its front left leg, Perera said.<div>- Return opposed -</div>Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka and are protected by law.The organization Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE), which led a campaign to rescue Muthu Raja from the temple, expressed its unhappiness over the animal&#x27;s departure.RARE organized a Buddhist blessing for the elephant on Friday ahead of its journey and has petitioned authorities to prosecute those it says are responsible for neglecting the animal.Sri Lanka&#x27;s wildlife minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said Thailand was &quot;adamant&quot; in its demands for the elephant&#x27;s return.Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told parliament in June he had personally conveyed Sri Lanka&#x27;s regrets to the Thai king over the elephant&#x27;s condition.Thailand has stopped sending elephants abroad, Thai environment minister Varawut said, adding that Bangkok&#x27;s diplomatic missions are checking the conditions of elephants already sent overseas.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

A Thai elephant gifted to Sri Lanka two decades ago arrived back in its birth country Sunday, following a diplomatic spat over the animal's alleged mistreatment.

Neglected elephant touches down in Thai homeland after flight

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Neglected elephant touches down in Thai homeland after flight

Rose TROUP BUCHANAN,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jul 02, 2023 07:52 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 03, 2023 09:24 AM PHT

Read More:

Thailand

Sri Lanka

elephant

Sak Surin

Muthu Raja

Chiang Mai

Rally for Animal Rights and Environment

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