Wildlife veterinarian Chananya Kanchanasaka drew national attention for her leadership of the entire operation to save an elephant calf. This incident highlights the Thai vet’s tough task of being a wildlife guardian.
One wet morning in July, an elephant calf strayed out of the forest in Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park onto the grounds of a golf resort in Nakhon Nayok province. It fell into a manhole so deep that its mother could not help. But the adult elephant charged at people who tried to go near her baby.
A rescue team that included officers from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) sedated the mother elephant, but it stepped towards the pit using its last ounce of strength, slumping over the hole where its calf was trapped.
The rescue team managed to retrieve the calf after the mother was fully sedated. Mother and calf were soon re-united in the park.
