For years, the elephant Sak Surin had to do hard labor in Sri Lanka. The pachyderm is actually a gift from Thailand. The government is now bringing him home – but that’s not a happy ending.
Elephants are considered sacred in many parts of Asia and are worshiped religiously by Buddhists. They also have political significance: states in the region give each other pachyderms as “Goodwill Ambassadors” – a diplomatic gesture to emphasize the good bilateral relations. However, the gifted nation is expected to treat the iconic animals well. When animal rights activists in Sri Lanka discovered Sak Surin from Thailand on a temple site three years ago, the animal was in a catastrophic condition. After a long tug of war, the government is now bringing the giant home – at least for the time being.
Transporting a four-ton behemoth to another country, especially when it’s wounded, is a Herculean task. Months of preparations preceded the special charter flight from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, scheduled for this Sunday. First, Sak Surin was taken to Dehiwala Zoo in Colombo in November for treatment and preparation for the complicated journey. A team of veterinarians and mahouts came from Thailand to help with first aid. In the zoo, the battered animal also experienced for the first time what it means to splash in water without chains.
Avoidance of new trauma
Sak Surin then had to learn to climb into a specially made seven-meter-long transport box and remain there for several hours. New traumas should be avoided at all costs. The box has to be hoisted up with the help of ropes and a crane – tests were also required for this. The government in Bangkok provided a special budget of almost 20 million Thai baht (500,000 euros) for the costs associated with the repatriation. After long suffering, is there a happy ending for the pachyderm?
Sak Surin, which means “in honor of Surin Province”. There, in eastern Thailand on the Cambodian border, the elephant was born 29 years ago. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, it is called Muthu Raja (Pearl of the King). In 2001 he came to the former Ceylon as a gift – a magnificent specimen with tusks that are almost 50 centimeters long today. Eventually he ended up at the Kande Vihara Temple in the coastal town of Aluthgama, where he had to do hard labor in processions and also carry wood and tourists.
The local organization Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) set the ball rolling to save him. The description of the animal’s torment is terrifying. RARE blames the head monk of the temple and the responsible mahout (elephant leader) for Sak Surin’s disastrous condition. The men had brought shame on the country and should be brought to justice for what they did to this sentient being, it said.
Abscesses and a stiff leg
The organization reports on its website that the left front leg was permanently stiffened by blows from the mahout. “He suffered from multiple abscesses and wounds on his body and bore scars from years of bull hook punctures. Still, he had to wear spiked chains to work in temple processions without rest or treatment.”
She saw the injuries with her own eyes, RARE boss Panchali Panapitiya told the German Press Agency. “He was brutally treated.” That is why her organization informed the wildlife authority of Sri Lanka in 2020. But they didn’t react. That was not their area of responsibility, it was said later.
So the animal rights activists turned to the Thai authorities. In hardly any other country are the majestic trunked animals so revered as here – because of their strength, loyalty and intelligence, but also as a good luck charm. Elephant figures of all sizes and colors can be found in most temples, but also in front of shrines and house altars. The gray giants are the national symbol of the kingdom.
Criticism of tourist tours with domesticated elephants
Nevertheless, domesticated elephants are also abused in Thailand for tourist tours and are often drilled hard. However, after much criticism, there are more and more “elephant sanctuaries” for former working elephants that pursue an ethical and sustainable tourism model. Sak Surin is also to be brought to such a sanctuary: the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang.
And then? Should the donated elephant go back to Sri Lanka? There is ambiguity about this. “The incident affects the good relations between the two countries,” said a Sri Lankan opposition politician. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena stressed that his government had officially apologized to Thailand. The elephant will later be brought back to Sri Lanka. Thailand’s embassy in Colombo declined to comment when asked.
At the moment, nobody knows who would bear the costs for such a return transport. The highly indebted Sri Lanka has extreme money worries and slipped into the worst economic crisis in decades last year.
Gift redemption with negative effects
Sri Lankan lawyer Jagath Gunawardana says that when a country withdraws a gift, it always has a negative impact on relations between the two countries. For this reason, Sri Lanka did not want the elephant Kaavan, which the government had given to Pakistan as a gift, back – although it also had to suffer a lot in its new home.
For years, Kaavan was chained in a small enclosure at Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo. Finally, in late 2020, he was flown from Pakistan to Cambodia. There the animal, which became known as the “loneliest elephant in the world”, found a new home in a sanctuary. Among other things, pop icon Cher had fought with a campaign for the freedom of the elephant and had traveled to Pakistan himself.
Around ten elephants donated by Thailand are still living in other countries, the media quoted Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa as saying. Two of them are still in Sri Lanka, they are said to be in good condition. After protests from animal rights activists, Thailand stopped making donations of this kind three years ago, the minister emphasized.