The ailing tusker ‘Muthu Raja’ was airlifted to Thailand by a special flight from Katunayake airport today (02).
The Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane carrying the tusker left around 7.30 am and reached Chiang Mai at 12.33 pm.
‘Muthu Raja’ is expected to receive treatment from Thai veterinary surgeons there.
The Thai royal family gave the elephant as a gift in 2001 to Sri Lanka’s government, which in turn gifted it to Kande Vihara temple in Aluthgama.
There have been accusations of mistreatment of the jumbo.
The temple agreed to transfer the elephant last November to the National Zoological Garden, where it received treatment and was prepared for the airlift to Thailand.
