Update on Chhouk.
First of all thanks to everyone for joining the cause to help us fund a prosthetic foot for Chhouk the baby elephant. A huge thanks goes to those who have also given their financial support as well. We currently have raised a total of $300 through Facebook. In addition to this, we have an additional $329 here at Lazy Gecko Cafe from our weekly raffle and sales of Lucky the elephants paintings and t-shirts. We have also just received $160 ($230 AUD) from readers of The Latrobe Valley Express who generously donated after reading about Chhouk earlier this month. That’s a total of $789 in under a month which is fantastic. Nick from Wildlife Alliance also has a further $3000. That puts us at about 13% of our total goal....but now it’s time to ask a favor of you all:) We have an exciting and original fundraising project that we are starting in the next few weeks with the help of Chhouk’s surrogate sister Lucky. Please invite as many people as you can to this cause. We need membership up as high as possible when we unveil this project because the more people that know about it the more successful it will be. So please – invite every one of your Facebook friends.
By now you should all know the basic background on Chhouk. Here’s the longer version. He was found by a WWF ranger patrol alone, afraid and badly injured. His mother possibly abandoned him after she couldn’t free him from the snare trap that hobbled him or possibly his injury simply prevented him from keeping up with his herd and he fell behind and got separated and lost. At his age he should have still been suckling from his mother but instead he was malnourished and near death.
At the request of his Excellency Ty Sokhun, Director General of the Forestry Administration, Wildlife Alliance were requested to attend to Chhouk and assess his situation. After calming Chhouk down he was sedated. It was found that his nails, all of his skin and some of his flesh had been torn off. Bones were exposed and his wound was raw and extremely painful. It was decided that he should be transferred to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre so he could receive medical treatment, a proper diet including milk and vitamin supplements, and appropriate handling. This however would require Chhouk to be strong enough to last the journey – which at that time he was not. Nick Marx of Wildlife Alliance spent the next four days hand-feeding and reassuring Chhouk – trying to calm him and build his strength enough to last the difficult journey ahead of him. The remote ranger station is in extremely rough country and the going was slow and arduous. In total the journey back to PTWRC took 26 hours, with Nick and Nev Broadis travelling in the back of the truck with Chhouk the whole way, feeding him and trying to keep him calm.
At PTWRC it was time for Chhouk to meet his new keepers – Mr Tam and Mr Sarim. They quickly built a strong bond with the little elephant. Mr Tam moved in with Chhouk – sleeping with him every night and spending every daylight minute with him also. Chhouk used to cry a lot – Mr Tam told me it was because he missed his mother. He also became concerned about how often Chhouk was being sedated to change his dressings so he started doing it himself, calming Chhouk through the painful cleaning process he had to undergo regularly. Not long after his arrival, Chhouk slipped and fell heavily on Mr Tam’s foot – piercing it right through with his tusk. They made quite a pair over the next few weeks with their matching foot bandages! These days both Mr Tam and Chhouk are looking remarkably alike – both of their waistlines have expanded dramatically. Mr Tam no longer has to sleep beside Chhouk every night but he still keeps a hammock strung up beside Chhouk’s stall for when he has nightmares – a wound that can’t be fixed with medicine and bandages.
Chhouk’s foot has healed quite remarkably. He has grown skin completely over the open wound and even developed a callous in place of a sole. The concern now is for his spine, bones and...