Once in Thailand a young girl called Soraida Salwala found an injured Asian elephant that had been hit by a car. Soraida wanted to take the elephant to a hospital so that it could be treated for its injuries, however at that time there was no such thing as a hospital for elephants. There began Soraida’s dream to open the first ever elephant hospital.

 

In 1994 Soraida’s dream came true, when she opened The Elephant Hospital  in Lampang, Thailand. It is the first of its kind in the world. Since opening, the hospital has treated over 600 injured, abused and sick Asian elephants. In a typical day, patients are fed, washed and massaged. Elephants are brought to the hospital by truck, or sometimes if an elephant is too sick or injured to be transported, Soraida and her team will go to it.

 

One famous patient, named Pang Motola, was injured in a land-mine accident. As a result, the doctors at the Elephant Hospital performed the first ever elephant-hoof amputation. Thanks to the care she received by Soraida and her team, Pang Motola recovered well.

There are so many Asian elephants on the streets of the Indian capital of Delhi, that they are causing traffic jams! Asian elephants once moved freely around the city, at any time of day, slowing down traffic and sometimes colliding with vehicles. These problems have resulted in new traffic laws that elephants must obey, or face heavy penalties! Elephants can now only walk on the roads at certain times of the day. They must also wear reflectors at night, to make them easier for drivers to see and to reduce the number of collisions that occur. The reflectors are roped to the elephants’ backsides, and are the cheapest and simplest way of protecting them from cars on the road.