As a part of our World Elephant Day campaign in August, our visitors and partners posted great photos on social media wearing our Elephant Hills ranger shirt, using the hashtag #EHWorldElephantDay2017. Thanks to the 38 people who put on their shirts for World Elephant Day, we purchased a good selection of medical supplies and two grass trolleys with the funds raised to aid the Krabi Elephant Hospital.
The Elephant Hospital in Krabi Province is located about 3 hours’ drive south from Elephant Hills resort in Khao Sok. This is the only Elephant Hospital in Southern Thailand, responsible for as many as 1,000 elephants in the Southern Provinces. The Krabi Elephant Hospital is also the nearest one to our Elephant Camp, and therefore we have always had a close relationship with the team. We were glad to notice that our previous donation of plants and trees was put into good use.
During our meeting with one of the veterinarians based at the hospital, we found out that there are currently 10 elephants being admitted. Unfortunately, not all the elephants can be kept at the treatment area simultaneously, and therefore some were located at the nearby forest. Each elephant admitted at the hospital comes with its mahout, and the mahouts take care of the food supply of the elephants. We were aware that the hospital was lacking grass trolleys which the mahouts use to bring food for the elephants, so we included two of these in the donation.
Other requested items included saline, rubbing alcohol and betadine, vitamins, medicine, cotton and wound dressings. The veterinarians often take their mobile clinic to other provinces if the elephant is not strong enough for being transported. After completing the treatment in various locations, they also leave some basic medical supplies so that the mahout or elephant owner can continue caring for the elephant. This reduces the stock of supplies they have at the hospital, and the budget for sourcing more is limited. This donation came in much need, and can truly help the domestic Thai Elephants here in the south.
Thank you for participating in our World Elephant Day campaign, and for supporting Thai elephants by making a donation to our Elephant Conservation Project when visiting us!
We are currently looking for partners to co-operate with our Elephant Conservation Project. If you or your company would be interested, please contact us at projects@elephanthills.com.
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