2023-07-02 06:54:00
Consequences of sister work: Sak Surin has abscesses.
I. Uphul/Zoo Dehiwala/dpa
For years, the elephant Sak Surin had to do hard labor in Sri Lanka. The result was abscesses and a stiff leg. The pachyderm is actually a gift from Thailand. The government is bringing him home for treatment – but that’s not a happy ending.
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Elephants are considered sacred in some Asian countries and are often given as gifts between countries. The elephant Sak Surin, a gift from Thailand to Sri Lanka, was in a catastrophic condition three years ago. The government has now brought the giant home – at least for the time being.
Elephants are considered sacred in many parts of Asia and are worshiped religiously by Buddhists. They also have political significance: states in the region give each other pachyderms as “Goodwill Ambassadors” – a diplomatic gesture to emphasize the good bilateral relations. However, the gifted nation is expected to treat the iconic animals well.
When animal rights activists in Sri Lanka discovered Sak Surin from Thailand on a temple site three years ago, the animal was in a catastrophic condition. After a long tug of war, the government has now brought the giant home – at least for the time being.
Transporting a four-ton colossus to another country, especially when it’s injured, is a Herculean task. The charter flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, which took off from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on Sunday morning (local time), was preceded by months of preparation.
Animal knows what it means to play wildly in the water
First, Sak Surin was taken to Dehiwala Zoo in November for treatment and preparation for the complicated journey. A team of veterinarians and mahouts came from Thailand to help with first aid. In the zoo, the battered animal also experienced for the first time what it means to splash around in the water.
Sak Surin then had to learn to climb into a specially made seven-meter-long transport box and remain there for several hours. This worked smoothly on Sunday, as can be seen in a video broadcast live on the Internet.
Dozens of journalists and zoo employees watched in the middle of the night as the bull slowly walked through the zoo one last time with a driver on his back and then docilely climbed into the gray box. There was almost awe-inspiring silence.
Animal rights activists cheer
The three-hour drive to Colombo Airport took place under police protection, as airport staff told the German Press Agency. With the help of ropes and a crane, the steel box was finally hoisted up and pushed into the machine. The plane took off at around 7:30 a.m. “You’re not just flying for your freedom, you’re flying for the freedom of all captive elephants in Sri Lanka,” animal rights activists cheered on social networks.
The government in Bangkok had provided a special budget of almost 20 million Thai baht (500,000 euros) for the repatriation. After long suffering, is there a happy ending for the pachyderm?
Sak Surin means «in honor of Surin Province». There, in the east of Thailand, the elephant was born 29 years ago. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, it is called Muthu Raja (Pearl of the King). In 2001 he came to the former Ceylon as a gift – a magnificent specimen with tusks that are almost 50 centimeters long today. Eventually he ended up at the Kande Vihara Temple in the coastal town of Aluthgama, where he had to do hard labor in processions and also carry wood and tourists.
The local organization Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) set the ball rolling to save him. The description of the animal’s torment is terrifying. RARE blames the head monk of the temple and the responsible mahout (elephant leader) for Sak Surin’s disastrous condition. The men had brought shame on the country and should be brought to justice for what they did to this sentient being, it said.
The organization reports on its website that the left front leg was permanently stiffened by blows from the mahout. “He suffered from multiple abscesses and wounds on his body and had scars from years of bull hook punctures. Yet he had to wear spiked chains to work in temple processions without rest or treatment.”
She saw the injuries with her own eyes, RARE boss Panchali Panapitiya told the German Press Agency. “He was brutally treated.” That is why her organization informed the wildlife authority of Sri Lanka in 2020. But they didn’t react. It was later said that this was not their area of responsibility.
So the animal rights activists turned to the Thai authorities. In hardly any other country are the majestic trunked animals so revered as here – because of their strength, loyalty and intelligence, but also as a good luck charm. In most temples, but also in front of shrines and house altars, there are elephant figures in all sizes and colors. The gray giants are the national symbol of the kingdom.
Nevertheless, domesticated elephants are also abused in Thailand for tourist tours and are often drilled hard. However, following much criticism, there are more and more “elephant sanctuaries” for former working elephants that pursue an ethical and sustainable tourism model. Sak Surin is also to be brought to such a sanctuary: the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang.
And then? Should the donated elephant go back to Sri Lanka? There is ambiguity regarding this. “The incident affects the good relations between the two countries,” said a Sri Lankan opposition politician. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena stressed that his government had officially apologized to Thailand. The elephant will later be brought back to Sri Lanka.
How is the relationship between the two countries?
At the moment, nobody knows who would bear the costs for such a return transport. Sri Lanka has extreme money worries and in 2022 slipped into the worst economic crisis in decades.
Sri Lankan lawyer Jagath Gunawardana says that when a country withdraws a gift, it always has a negative impact on relations between the two countries. For this reason, Sri Lanka did not want the elephant Kaavan back, which the government had once given to Pakistan as a gift – although it also had to suffer a lot in its new home.
Kaavan, who became known as the “world’s loneliest elephant,” was chained in a small enclosure at Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo for years. At the end of 2020 he was finally flown from Pakistan to Cambodia. Among other things, pop icon Cher had fought with a campaign for the freedom of the elephant.
Around ten elephants donated by Thailand are still living in other countries, the media quoted Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa as saying. Two of them are still in Sri Lanka, they are said to be in good condition. After protests from animal rights activists, Thailand stopped making donations of this kind three years ago, the minister emphasized.
By Anne-Sophie Galli and Carola Frentzen/dpa
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