District chief Wiwat Chantananurak, forestry officials and military scouts organised a burial ceremony for 60-year-old Plai Khun Song - also known as Plai Nga Diew ("One-trunk").

Hundreds of people, including Chanthaburi governor Panas Kaewlai and his wife, attended the ceremony, at which four Buddhist monks prayed for the animal to rest in peace.

The burial site, a four-metre-by-10m grave dug by heavy machinery, was about 300 metres away from the hole in which the five-tonne elephant had been trapped for seven days.

Wiwat said Plai Khun Song would be buried for two years and his remains dug up to create a monument that would remind people of the relationship between humans, animals (particularly elephants) and the forest.

During the week-long drama, sympathetic members of the public donated Bt110,000 to the rescue effort. This money will be put toward the establishment of an elephant-care centre and the purchase of much-needed medicine and equipment to treat injured elephants, Wiwat said.

In related news, Dr Alongkorn Mahannop, a veterinarian at Chitrlada Palace, yesterday treated an eight-year-old female elephant, Phung Pailin, who was injured after stepping on broken glass in Nakhon Ratchasima's Muang district.

Phung Pailin's mahout, Sompong Suan-ngam, 40, from Buriram, had taken her to join a Buddhist Lent candle parade with several other elephants in front of Nakhon Ratchasima City Hall on Tuesday. The animal stepped on the broken glass and was unable to walk.

Dr Alongkorn put Phung Pailin under anaesthetic and, with 10 volunteers, tied her in position to remove the glass from her foot. The procedure took 20 minutes.

The animal was given anti-inflammatory medicine and tetanus vaccine while Sompong was instructed how to care for his charge.

The veterinarian said Phung Pailin should recover in five days.

Krisada Sawatdichai

The Nation