Rush to rescue 7 elephants stranded in flooded pens in Chiang Mai

Officials are rushing to save seven adult elephants stranded in flooded pens at the Elephant Nature Park, an attraction in Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai province, which has been inundated by heavy rain since earlier this week.

Rescue efforts have been futile so far as divers could not unlatch the locks of pens’ doors, which have been buried under a thick layer of mud and flood water, the Thai Elephant Alliance Association said on Saturday.

The stranded elephants are exhausted from having to stand in floodwater for more than 30 hours, said Theerapat Trungprakan, association president, adding that they become aggressive when rescuers get too close. 

He said divers have been working blind trying to open pens’ doors, as the nature park has no floor plan to help them navigate through muddy water.

He said the association is discussing a rescue strategy with the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province, which has experience in transporting aggressive elephants through difficult terrains.

Theerapat said there are more than 80 elephant pens in Chiang Mai, 38 of them in Mae Taeng district, which has suffered from floods in the past few days.

He urged all operators of elephant pens and camps to prepare evacuation plans in case of emergency to prevent the loss of elephants.

“Elephants naturally have a good survival instinct and can escape most dangers,” he said. “It’s the operator’s practice and lack of contingency plan that could put the elephants in danger in case of emergency, which must be thoroughly investigated.”

Chiang Mai officials confirmed on Saturday that two elephants found dead on Friday in a water tunnel behind Sibsan Hotel in Mae Taeng district had been washed away by flooding from the pens of the Save Elephant Foundation, also located in Mae Taeng. 

They were identified as Ploy Thong (male, 40 years old, blind in both eyes) and Fah Sai (female, 16 years old, pictured below).