Fah Sai, a baby elephant, recovering after she was shot 10 times

After poachers shot her and left her for dead, a baby elephant has had multiple bullets removed and is recovering now. The baby female elephant named Fah Sai (Thai for “Clear Sky”) was shot repeatedly by what authorities assume to be illegal poachers in the eastern province of Chanthaburi.

Reports said the poor baby elephant stepped in a trap and became stuck. Hunters then shot her again and again. Veterinarians that are treating her now in Pattaya and report that they removed upward of 10 bullets from the elephant’s left leg.

Fah Sai is now recovering from emergency surgery and beginning to show signs of improvement and cheering up. She has been playing with her caretaker and can be seen wobbling around in her pink surgery bandages. She still has a long way to go though, as her wounds need continual cleaning to avoid infections, and later will require physical therapy to improve her walking as it is still shaky.

Sadly, officials believe that her mother was likely killed by the same illegal poachers that the baby elephant seems to have narrowly escaped. The vet taking care of her in association with Nong Nooch Gardens said she is nursing with substitute milk now.

“We feed the baby elephant with milk from a mother elephant from the Nong Nooch Gardens. We believe her natural mother, as she is a wild elephant, was possibly killed by poachers and she became stuck in a trap and was shot at least ten times while trying to escape. She is a very lucky young elephant, only a few months old, and has found a new home here at the Gardens where our elephants have quickly adopted her.”

Fah Sai has now bonded with other elephants at the Gardens, accepting them as new parents, so she will stay permanently. Chanthaburi Police, in the meantime, will continue their investigation into the illegal poachers that nearly killed the baby elephant and likely killed her mother.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News