Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE)
It has been more than 12 years since I met Soraida Salwala, the founder and since 1993 also the driving force behind the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) and the elephant hospital in Lampang where Dr. Preecha waves the medical scepter. In Thailand Soraida Salwala is held in high esteem and enjoys Dr. Preecha worldwide recognition for his specialty: elephants.
Elephant turntable
At that time, the Rotterdam Diergaarde Blijdorp had put into use a so-called elephant tilter and Dr. Preecha know something more about it. For a minor injury, our Jumbo must be given a rather heavy injection to keep the animal calm before being able to treat him or her. So on to Rotterdam where vet Willem Schaftenaar told me all information gave about this large construction work sponsored by a Rotterdam company with associated electrically controlled control technology.
The tilter, a kind of large metal cage, was placed between the night and day quarters of the pachyderms, who could only walk out through this cage. The animal to be treated was clamped during the passage and, as the name of the construction indicates, could then be tilted and treated. From a kind of control room, everything could be operated automatically by pressing one of the many buttons.
To make a very long story short; the elephant hospital in Lampang has never purchased or built such a device and in Rotterdam it has not proved to be a success. Lampang still uses a much simpler construction that is operated with the necessary manpower. But all this aside now.
The hospital
Coming from Chiang Mai, the hospital is a few kilometers before the town of Lampang on the left side of the road, adjacent to the Elephant Conservation Center, which is also located there and is clearly signposted. You can just go on a 'visit' with the elephants and have a look around. A number of patients are cared for and nursed here. In addition, the hospital also provides advice and medicines to owners of an elephant or provides first aid in the event of an accident or illness. A concern that is much needed because the forest, Jumbo's natural habitat, has to make way for agriculture and industry due to further development.
As a result, the field of activity of our gray pachyderm is coming under increasing pressure and the income for Jumbo's boss is declining, reducing the care for the animals and increasing the risk of illness. It is not uncommon for the animals to get too little food and become malnourished. Partly due to the changes in forestry, the economic importance of the elephant has decreased considerably. A number of elephants are staying in the hospital, each of which has its own sad story to tell.
Motola
You may also see Motola, the elephant that received worldwide publicity in 1999. The beast stepped on a landmine near the Thai-Burmese border while working in the woods, crushing her left leg and necessitating amputation. The whole world was in turmoil and sad as it may be for Motola, suddenly the FAE, partly as a result of this, gained international fame and prestige. Offers for help came in from all corners of the world. A company that manufactures prostheses even offered to make a prosthesis for Motola. Every morning, helpers ensure that 48-year-old Motola has her prosthesis attached and after a lot of interim adjustments, our friend has been walking around Lampang for over ten years with the help of this artificial leg as a special patient.
A few years ago she got a fellow sufferer. The young elephant Mosha suffered the same fate when she was only 7 months old and she too now walks around with a prosthesis. And how cruel war is was shown again very recently. In August this year, the 22-year-old elephant, nicknamed Mae Ka Pae, met the same fate. She also had to miss a leg and this time again a landmine around the border with Burma was the cause.
Discovery Channel
Film images say much more than a thousand words. So take a look at the Discovery Channel via the video below. You will then see Soraida Salwala. The first man - with glasses and a small mustache - to speak is Dr. Preecha the elephant doctor of the hospital in Lampang.
Beautiful film about the courageous Soraida Salwala, the founder of the hospital for elephants in Lampang, the only one in the world. But one thing I don't understand. In the film it is said that she had won the battle to get the elephants off the streets of Bangkok and reached an agreement with the highest police authorities in 1997.
But until 2009 you could still see begging elephants in Bangkok every day.
In addition, I understood from newspaper reports that the problem of removing the elephants from the streets was not with the police, but with many departments of the various ministries who had to come to an agreement.