This giant had been struck
by a train several hours ago.
The wildlife authories arrived at the site
as soon as this news was heard.
It is not very uncommon for elephants
to get struck by trains in Sri Lanka.
As most of the rail tracks
in the country's dry zone
runs through or
near jungles, where elephants reside.
Being a small island with dense elephant population, it is not possible
to build roads and rails without crossing into elephant's movement routes.
Even though precautions have taken
to keep the elephants away from the rail
track, sometimes, these smart creatures
find ways to evade these barriers.
In this case, it seems that the
elephant has traveled to a nearby
pond, and the officers and the
veterinarians from the department of
wildlife who performed the
rescue operation had to work hard in
locating the wounds and fractures
that had occurred in this elephant.
Furthermore, this had also made
treating this elephant difficult.
Therefore, they decided to get this giant
out of the water. At least to some extent.
With the limited amount of resource the wildlife officers
have, they thought of dragging the elephant with a rope.
The rope of tied to a foot after
observing for any wounds or fractures.
It is clear that this massive animal is in pain.
Even though train accidents are not fatal to elephants; they
can cause serious injuries that can hinder them from bearing
their gigantic bodies that weighs several tonnes.
Thais can exert severe
manifestations to these animals.
The veterinarian examined the animal for any
vital disturbances such as excessive bleeding.
and decided to provide fluids and medicine intravenously.
Providing intravenous fluids to an eplephant is
not an easy task, as superficial veins are problematic to
locate and to prick
their thick, dark skins.
Therefore, in elephants the ear vein draining
their large ear lobes is used to provide
intravenous medication as with this elephant.
The team continued to treat the elephant and
we hope this innocent being will recover
soon and well.