A four-month-old elephant calf confiscated from smugglers late Sunday is recuperating at Phnom Tamao Zoo in Takeo province, wildlife officials said.
The baby elephant’s left front leg was wounded by a cable trap, said Nhim Thy, a veterinarian at the zoo.
“He was snared by the cable trap and needs medical treatment,” Nhim Thy said. The baby elephant’s body was also marked by scratches, which are expected to heal, Nhim Thy said.
The elephant’s parents escaped from the poachers, said the wildlife expert. The elephant may have been snared inside the 140,000-hectare Bokor National Park, but it was confiscated by officials in Kompong Seila district of Koh Kong province, officials said. Authorities found the elephant after they were tipped off.
Meanwhile, five Bokor park rangers returned to work recently after recovering in Sihanoukville from a June 13 grenade attack. No one has been arrested for the attack, which occurred in Prey Nup district in Sihanoukville shortly after the rangers seized chainsaws from a group of illegal loggers.
Bokor National Park Director Chey Yuthearith said Monday he will send a complaint to Sihanoukville court to push for a more detailed investigation.
In December 1997, a study by a European Commission-funded program found that bulldozed roads had given illegal loggers access to about 80 percent of the park.
