Rescued Thai Elephant Returns Home After Years of Neglect in Sri Lanka
A Thai elephant named Muthu Raja, given to Sri Lanka in 2001, has been flown back to Thailand after allegations of abuse. The elephant, weighing 4,000kg, was airlifted in a specially-built steel cage and will undergo treatment for an injury on its front left leg. Animal rights groups claim that Muthu Raja was made to work with a logging crew in a temple, resulting in neglect and injuries. Sri Lanka's prime minister has formally apologized to the Thai king, and activists are calling for those responsible for the elephant's neglect to be prosecuted.