Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya has been to see a bull elephant, Boonna, and a cow elephant, Fahjam, at the National Elephant Institute under the Royal Patronage in Lampang province.
At 12:44 p.m. on Sunday (Nov 8), Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari journeyed to the institute in Lampang’s Hang Chat district to visit Boonna and Fahjam. Both elephants are under the royal patronage of the Princess.
Her Royal Highness observed treatment of Fahjam after it was injured by a snare in a forest in Chanthaburi province. The snare severed its front left foot. The three-year-old elephant also had injuries in its right foot and back. The institute started treating Fahjam on September 14, 2018, and made it an artificial foot. Currently, Fahjam is gradually recovering.
On this occasion, Her Royal Highness observed daily activities of the institute’s elephant training school. The elephants learn sports, such as takraw, and painting.
The National Elephant Institute mainly conducts three activities. They include academic studies, and research such as artificial insemination, conservation and social services, such as mobile clinics, tourism and fundraising. Elephant shows are performed three times a day. Visitors can watch elephants in their natural setting, and reside with the mahouts at a homestay. The institute also operates a resort.
Her Royal Highness then visited the elephant shed of Boona and Fahjam. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, accompanied by Boonna’s mahout Theerayut Laokhom, presented the Princess with the elephant’s identification certificate. Boonna is a healthy four-year-old elephant that came under the institute’s patronage on September 28 this year.
The Princess’s visit brought joy and appreciation to officials at the National Elephant Institute. They expressed their gratitude for the Princess’s royal kindness to Thai elephants.
The institute is currently looking after 53 bull elephants and 51 cow elephants. The institute has 221 officials from the Forest Industry Organization, 111 mahouts and nine veterinarians. They provide medical treatment to some 7,000 elephants annually.
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Information and Source:National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th