Dr. Siripat Khammesriwith the Chiang Mai University Mobile Vet Clinic
With support from AES, our dear friend, Dr. Khajohnpat Boonprasert from the Chiang Mai University Mobile Vet Clinic, has teamed up with a second veterinarian, Dr. Siripat Khammesri. The two will both be traveling, providing veterinary care and health checks to Thailand’s elephants.
The addition of a second veterinarian is critical, especially during the pandemic that has left many elephants out of work due to the lack of tourists. Owners have taken their elephants back to their home villages and the mobile clinic is spending much more time on the road to care for these elephants.
Elephant from Surin Province surveys CMU Van's trunk space
One of their recent stops was to Surin Province, located in south eastern Thailand. There, the doctors collaborated with the Institute of Elephant Research and Healthcare services, livestock department and with the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. While on this mission, the doctors treated a remarkable 65 elephants!
Veterinarians and Mahouts performing blood draw
In the photos from Surin province, you can see the doctors helping the local men and women perform blood draws from the elephants’ ears, which helps in determining an elephant’s overall health.
On the way home to Chiang Mai, they stopped at a Buddhist festival in Uthai Thani province to provide healthcare services for three elephants there. Treatments included NSAIDs for lameness and eye care medications.
Looking ahead, the two veterinarians will be able to travel to an extended area in northern Thailand, and be able to cover for each other for emergencies, on weekends and holidays.
With the use of the transport vehicle, both doctors will be able to serve Thailand’s elephants more effectively. We are proud to watch the vehicle AES donated to the CMU Mobile Vet Clinic be used, both effectively and efficiently. We hope you will follow along with us while we watch the impact of the mobile unit grow. AES thanks our donors who make such efforts happen. Thank you!