Thai vets rule out surgery for trap-injured elephant

Mar 6, 2008, 9:01 GMT

Bangkok - Thai vets on Thursday ruled out surgery for Sampran, a 6-year-old elephant whose forefoot has swollen to a monstrous size after being injured in a hunter's trap two years ago.

'We can't operate on the foot because there would be too much blood loss,' said Thai veterinarian Sittidej Mahasawangkul after taking an X-Ray of Sampran's damaged foot at Lampang National Elephant Institute hospital, 500 kilometres north of Bangkok.

Sampran, a wild pachyderm, was finally brought to the hospital for treatment Thursday after suffering from a foot injury inflicted by a hunter's trap more than two years ago.

Forest rangers at Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary befriended the young elephant by offering it food, until it trusted them enough to be brought in to hospital for treatment.

But vets who examined the elephant's wound said it could never be completely healed.

'The infection has gotten in to the bone, which has grown like a tumor,' said Sittidej, in a telephone interview from Lampang hospital. 'We may be able to keep it alive with antibiotics and treatment, but Sampran will always be a cripple.'

The Lampang National Elephant Institute is the world's first hospital to specialize in pachyderm treatment, funded by donations, earnings off tourists who visit the hospital and the government.