About 100 Elephants Are Rescued from Flooded Sanctuary: 'Biggest Evacuation We Have Ever Done'
Elephant Nature Park in Thailand is scrambling to evacuate many of its 126 elephants amid severe flooding in the wake of Typhoon Yagi
An elephant sanctuary in Thailand scrambled to save some of its animals this week, following flooding that inundated the country following a typhoon.
On Thursday, Oct. 3, videos and photos emerged out of Elephant Nature Park, located near the city of Chiang Mai, which showed some of the rescue's 100 elephants trekking through deep water to find their way to higher grounds away from the park.
“It was the biggest evacuation we have ever done to save their lives, the water rose rapidly,” Elephant Nature Park founder Saengduean "Lek" Chailert told CNN, referring to nearby rivers that caused the flooding.
Chailert also added that although the floods stemming from Typhoon Yagi — which tore through Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand last month — were the most severe that the park had ever seen, many of its animals were able to find shelter at a nearby mountain on Thursday night.
Videos and photos captured of the evacuations shared with CNN and the BBC show elephants, as well as some of the park's other 5,000 animals including cats and dogs, wading through water that is nearly up to their trunks or being carried through water by mahouts, the name for the park's staff who work with the elephants.
“There are some animals we could not evacuate yesterday," she clarified to the outlet. "Thirteen adult elephants are still trapped in their quarters. They are panicking."
Park officials later confirmed to the BBC on Friday that the sanctuary has 126 elephants total, nine of which are still stuck on the far side of the park, but are safe.
Chailert also added that she has requested assistance from Thai officials, and is also turning to the public for help, asking for volunteers to help move the animals, financial donations, as well as donations of boats, tarps and cages so that animals can be evacuated.
In a post on Facebook, the Nature Park wrote in Thai that are "urgently need volunteers and animal cages as we must move the animals to the mountains due to the roads being completely cut off in both directions" from a landslide.
Some boats are also needed so that mahouts can stay with the large animals to calm them down while they're trapped. Another Facebook post shared Friday also shows that the park is in search of one of its elephants, named Fa Sai, after it wandered off amidst the flooding.
"The situation is a lot worse than yesterday," she told CNN, adding that about 30 foreign volunteers are also trapped at the park, including five Americans.
Related: Tennessee Dog Stranded 20 Feet Up in Tree After Flooding Is Rescued and Reunited with Owners
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According to CNN, the Elephant Nature Park serves as an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center that has rescued more than 200 elephants from working in logging and tourism since Chailert established it in 2003. Many of the elephants residing at the park have disabilities and injuries including blindness.
“Among the evacuated animals, there are many sick elephants, some barely walk," she told the outlet. "We had to help them to get to the foot of the mountain. We are in desperate need for help."
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