A baby elephant struck by a motorbike while crossing a road in Thailand survived after it was revived by an off-duty rescue worker.
The elephant being given CPR by rescue worker Mana Srivate. Photo: BBC screenshot
Mana Srivate told Reuters news agency he had performed dozens of resuscitation attempts in his career - but never before on an elephant.
In a video that went viral online he is seen giving two-handed compressions to the elephant lying on its side in the middle of a dark road.
The elephant stood up after 10 minutes.
It had been trying to cross a road with a group of wild pachyderms in the eastern Thai province of Chanthaburi.
In the video, Mana's colleagues are also seen treating the motorcycle rider, who survived the crash without serious injuries.
Mana, who has been a rescue worker for 26 years, told Reuters he came across the accident scene late on Sunday while he was off duty on a road trip.
"It's my instinct to save lives, but I was worried the whole time because I can hear the mother and other elephants calling for the baby," Mana told the agency by phone.
"I assumed where an elephant heart would be located based on human theory and a video clip I saw online.
"When the baby elephant starting to move, I almost cried," he said.
The baby elephant stood up after about 10 minutes and was taken to another site for treatment, reported Reuters, before it was returned to the accident site in the hope of finding its mother. It has escaped serious injuries too.
The other elephants returned when the mother heard her baby calling out, Mana told the agency.
He added that the elephant was the only victim he had ever managed to revive through cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- BBC
