Efforts to rescue wild elephants trapped in snares.
As of the afternoon of May 8th, authorities in Dak Lak and Yok Don National Park were still working to rescue a wild elephant caught in animal traps, with a snare clamped tightly around its trunk and a steel noose around its leg.
The image shows a wild elephant in distress.
Earlier, on the afternoon of May 7th, upon receiving a report that a wild elephant had been caught in a trap in sub-area 453 of the forest area managed by the Buon Don Protective Forest Management Board, Yok Don National Park and the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center urgently deployed rescue measures. Yok Don National Park dispatched two domesticated elephants, four experienced elephant handlers, specialized elephant trapping ropes, a vehicle carrying sugarcane and bananas for elephant food, and a veterinarian from the Elephant Conservation Center to the scene to organize the emergency rescue of the injured wild elephant.
By 10:00 AM on May 8th, two domesticated elephants and their mahouts had spotted and approached the wild elephant. However, due to the rugged terrain, numerous thorny bushes, and streams, by 5:00 PM on May 8th, the rescue team had still not been able to subdue the distressed elephant.
Observations indicate the injured elephant is male, approximately 6-7 years old, with tusks about 30cm long; its trunk is tightly gripped by a snare trap, causing ulceration and a very deep wound; one of its legs is constricted by a cable snare trap, causing severe injuries. The wounds are beginning to necrotize and emit a foul odor. If the snare trap on its trunk is not removed and the wounds are not treated urgently, the injured elephant will die.
Mr. Tran Van Thanh, Director of Yok Don National Park, said: the Park and the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center have contacted wildlife conservation experts and leaders of the Saigon Zoo (Ho Chi Minh City) to request assistance in the rescue. If domesticated elephants cannot subdue the injured elephant, they will borrow tranquilizer guns from the zoo to sedate the elephant, remove the traps, and treat its wounds. Once the elephant's health stabilizes, it will be released back into the forest.
According to (NNVN) - LC
