A veterinarian meets the elephant he saved 12 years earlier: "We recognized each other and said goodbye"
A very special bond can be created between man and animal, in many cases. If a human starts caring for an animal in distress, for example, you can be sure that the animal in question will be grateful to him for life. It seems that the Thai veterinarian, Dr. Pattarapol Maneeon, experienced living proof of this during a lucky encounter with an elephant that he had had the opportunity to treat 12 years earlier. The elephant named Plai Thang seems to have in turn recognized the man who, many years earlier, had literally saved his life. A really moving meeting, of which we can show you some really intense photos!
via Facebook / ภัทรพล ล็อต มณีอ่อน
Facebook / ภัทรพล ล็อต มณีอ่อน
Plai Thang is a 31-year-old elephant who, 12 years prior to this extraordinary event, was rescued from near-certain death by staff from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. Back in 2009, the poor animal was found in very bad conditions in the woods of Rayong, in eastern Thailand. The elephant suffered from trypanosomiasis, a potentially fatal infectious disease, from which, however, Dr. Pattarapol managed to save it. The elephant also suffered from other diseases and, when it arrived in the territory of the Forest Industry Organization, in the province of Lampang, to be treated, it proved to be quite aggressive. At the same time, however, the baby elephant also showed great intelligence: he knew that those humans were only trying to cure him. Doctor Pattarapol managed with great determination and patience to completely cure Plai Thang, who was later released into his natural habitat. Now, after 12 years of never meeting a human, the baby elephant seems to have recognized "his" veterinarian.
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Doctor Pattarapol was patrolling the wooded area when, all of a sudden, he recognized the characteristic trumpeting of the elephant he met 12 years ago: he was sure it was Plai Thang! Similarly, when the two came face to face, the baby elephant appears to have recognized him. As a sign of friendship and gratitude, Plai Thang stretched out his trunk in the direction of the man and the latter reached out to touch the animal.
"I remember his sound very clearly," commented Dr. Pattarapol, "Plai Thang's trumpet is very unique. When we first met him he was very aggressive. His body was weak and he couldn't keep up with the other elephants. For him, it took a long time to heal, but we found that he was very intelligent: he wanted to heal. Now, we have met again. We remembered each other and said goodbye. It was a very special moment" said the doctor, visibly moved. On the other hand, how can you not be moved by these gestures?
