Everything is ready for the historic flight home from Sri Lanka of Sak Surin, an ailing Thai elephant, after about two decades away from home.

According to Sittidet Mahasawangkul, a veterinarian at the Forest Industry Organisation (FIO), this will be the first time that a Thai elephant will be flown back to Thailand on board a Russian-made IL-76 transport plane.

On board the chartered flight will be the pilot, co-pilot, nine crew and five passengers, including three FIO mahouts, one Sri Lankan mahout from Dehiwala Zoo in Colombo and one Thai veterinarian.

The plane will also carry about 250kgs of fruit, including bananas, sugarcane and grass, which will be fed to Sak Surin during the over five-hour flight to relieve stress. The elephant will not be given sedatives.

The elephant will be kept in a standing position with its four legs tied to the corners of the cage and beams covered with sponge to protect its tusks from damage.  

Sittidet said that the Thai mahouts will keep talking to the elephant and feeding it, so it will stay relaxed during the journey.

“Elephants eat all the time,” said the vet, as he assured that the Russian-made army transport plane is quite safe and the flight cage is strong and secure.

“Everything has been done to make Sak Surin feel comfortable during the journey. There is no concern because we are ready, like a boxer who is 100% ready for the fight,” said the vet, who leads the repatriation team.

The elephant will be moved from Dehiwala Zoo to the airport in Colombo on the night of July 1^st at 9pm. It will board the plane the next morning at 7.30am and is expected to arrive in Chiang Mai at 1pm on the same day.