PETALING JAYA, Dec 24 — A baby elephant in Thailand survived a road accident last weekend thanks to the efforts of a quick-thinking rescue worker.
Reuters reported that Mana Srivate was off-duty on Sunday when he received a call about a motorcycle accident involving a baby elephant in the eastern province of Chanthaburi.
A Facebook video that went viral on Monday shows Mana using his hands to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a baby elephant lying on its side while his colleagues attended to the motorcyclist nearby.
Mana has been a rescue worker for 26 years but the incident initially worried him as it was his first time using CPR on an elephant.
He could also hear the cries of the baby elephant’s mother and the rest of the herd nearby.
Pressed for time, he pinpointed the approximate location of the elephant’s heart based on human theory and a video he had seen online.
“It’s my instinct to save lives, but I was worried the whole time because I can hear the mother and other elephants calling for the baby.
“When the baby elephant started to move, I almost cried,” said Mana.
The baby elephant slowly got back up on its feet after 10 minutes, prompting rescue workers to hoist it onto a truck and transport it to another area for further treatment.
The motorcyclist and the baby elephant are said to be in good shape without any serious injuries.
Rescue workers then brought the animal back to the scene of the accident in the hopes of reuniting it with its herd.
The elephants quickly returned after the baby began crying out for its mother.
Mana said that while he’s attended to dozens of road accident accidents throughout his career, the baby elephant is the only victim he’s managed to revive with CPR so far.
