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Tusker gifted by Thailand to be sent home for medical treatment
View(s):- Activists and wildlife experts say elephant had been mistreated and abused
By Kasun Warakapitiya
A tusker gifted by Thailand to Sri Lanka will be sent back for medical treatment, a senior official said.
Muthu Raja who was gifted in 2001 has been taken care of by the Kande Viharaya, in Aluthgama town. It was one of two tuskers gifted by the Thai government.
National Zoological Gardens Director General Thilak Premakantha said the Thai ambassador and Ven. Kokavita Vipulasara thera, chief incumbent of Kande Viharaya, had suddenly informed zoo officials that Muthu Raja needed to be housed there for treatment. The thera had sent the tusker to the zoo on Wednesday, Mr Premakantha added.
The tusker stands in a pool of water, with its hind legs in shackles. Pix by Akila Jayawardana
The young tusker, in his late 20′s, had been suffering from a limp for several years and had participated in peraheras. Animal rights activists and environmentalists claimed the animal was being mistreated and abused. They also claimed the Thai embassy had taken this step following their outcries.
When the Sunday Times visited the zoo recently, Muthu Raja was in the shed which previously housed “Badulla”, the zoo’s eldest elephant, who passed away recently.
The tusker was standing in a pool of water, with its hind legs in shackles. He appeared to be in pain and was shifting his weight to his right front leg. His left front leg appeared to be swollen, and he had two abscesses on his hind legs.
An official said the elephant was undergoing water therapy to reduce the pressure on his legs and ease the pain he was going through.
Ven. Vipulasara thera said Muthu Raja would be temporarily held at the zoo until the Thai embassy could make transport arrangements for the elephant.
“Thailand has the best hospitals capable of healing Muthu Raja. They will heal Muthu Raja and hand him back to us,” he said.
Wildlife and Forest Conservation Ministry Secretary R.M.C.M Herath said officials from the Thai Embassy had visited the elephant before he was taken to the zoo and they had also informed the Ministry of their move.
Mahout’s view
Roshan Jayasundara, the mahout who looked after the tusker for 18 years at Kande Viharaya, said it was not an easy task to handle Muthu Raja, as the elephant had been trained in a foreign language and had difficulty understanding his commands.
He also said Muthu Raja was kept shackled as captive elephants were usually kept chained.
Roshan Jayasundara
“Before me, 12 caretakers had taken care of Muthu Raja. Looking after him is no easy feat, as he can be aggressive,” the mahout added.
He said he took up the challenge of looking after the elephant even after his brother had been severely injured by Muthu Raja’s tusks. His brother’s spinal cord had also been damaged in the incident.
He denied the claims of activists, that he used spiked shackles on Muthu Raja’s legs a few years back, and said the abscesses on the elephant’s legs were caused by the injection of antibiotics when he was unwell.
He also said the elephant had broken the tip of one of his tusks when he gored into the trunk of a kithul tree during musth season.
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