As you all maybe aware its the start of the wet season, and with that we can get a lot of rain. The wet season is the time when our weaker elephants are at their most vulnerable, and this is because it can often rain at night so the elephants dont sleep or eat as well as they should. So at the start of last week we drove all the elephants to a truck weigh station and got weights on them all so we had a baseline weight for each elephant. Then on Wednesday we decided to sent Jumpee, Rusokon and Jumjury to the farm resort to relax and eat all the different grasses and food there. The three of them with Peer, Dee and George were loaded into a truck with Gik and Neil in the truck cab with Choo driving and off they went. Just after they left a light rain started which very quickly turned into a heavy down pour, the farm is only 1 klm away. It didnt take them long and they were nearly there when they went under some powerlines and heard a very loud boom. Choo stopped the truck and Gik jumped out to see Jumpee and Jumjury collapsed on the floor of the truck with Peer and Dee collapsed on top of them. Gik and Neil climbed into the truck and carried the boys out while giving them CPR. They flagged down a passing car which drove them to hospital. Neil phoned to tell me about the situation so Ewa and I went to check on the elephants. When we arrived all the elephants were standing in the truck. We brought them back to the kraal and proceeded to assess their condition. On consultation with Dr Chitsanu over the phone, we started them on a course of teatment which was completed yesterday. All the elephants are doing well and are improving everyday. Peer and Dee are still in hospital being treated for burns and will be there for a while longer but are improving everyday also. Last time we went into visit them they were a lot brighter and talking and Peer was even playing with his phone. I am posting this to let you know what has happened and that the elephants are fine and the mahouts are on the mend.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:54:31 +0000