National park officials, boats and FWD trucks are rushing to an elephant conservation centre in Mae Taeng district of Chiang Mai to evacuate about 100 elephants and hundreds of other animals, as floodwater reaches two metres and is still rising.
Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said today that the rescue operation is being hampered because all roads leading to the Elephant and Environment Conservation Foundation centre are heavily flooded.
He also said that more volunteers are needed to help the first group of about 50 people, from the Sri Lanna National Park and from Chiang Dao district, who are already on their way to the scene, adding that a request for more boats has been submitted to the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Even though elephants enjoy being in water, Atthaphon said that staying in it too long in water can cause problems and some of them in the conservation centre are not tame.
Saengduean Chailert, of the Elephant and Environment Conservation Foundation, said in her Facebook post today that overflows from the swollen Mae Taeng River have flooded the elephant centre, where about 100 elephants and hundreds of mostly sick cats, dogs and rabbits reside.
She said that a number of animals have already been evacuated to higher ground, on the nearby mountain, but many are still stranded, as she pleaded for volunteers, boats, cages for small animals and tarpaulins to shelter the elephants from the rain.
Volunteers can contact the centre on 053- 272855, 098-6566685 and 064-44688989.
Meanwhile, Phra Khru Sangkharak Veerawat of Chedi Luang Temple said that 14 elephants were moved by mahouts from another elephant shelter to higher ground yesterday, about two kilometres from the elephant conservation centre.
