Elephant nearly drowns during rescue attempt
DHAKA • An elephant that travelled from India to Bangladesh after becoming separated from its herd because of floods was stopped yesterday in a dramatic rescue that nearly ended in disaster.
The distressed female ran amok after it was hit by a tranquilliser dart and charged into a pond, where it was saved from drowning with the help of villagers who jumped in to keep it from toppling into the water as it passed out, a local vet said.
Conservationist Ashit Ranjan Paul said it has likely travelled around 1,000km in the past six weeks. A team of Bangladeshi forest officials have been following the exhausted elephant and now hope to take it to a safari park where it can be looked after.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Taiwan giraffe dies of anxiety on the road
TAIPEI • A seven-year-old male giraffe has died of anxiety after being caged and loaded onto a truck at a Taiwan zoo, the latest animal death to spark angry calls for tougher protection laws.
The giraffe - named Hsiao Chiu - was to be transported from the municipal Taipei Zoo to a private zoo for mating when he began to struggle and then collapsed, officials said yesterday. An autopsy showed the giraffe was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE