A baby elephant's life was saved after paramedics performed CPR on it. The incident took place in Thailand after he got injured in an accident.
In a video being shared online, one-month-old baby elephant can be seen lying on ground and crying in pain after being hit by a motorcycle in Chanthaburi province in Thailand on Saturday. Mana Srivate, a rescue worker for the last 26 years, can be seen attempting to resuscitate the elephant by giving him two-handed compressions. The motorist Anan Cherdsoongnern, 53, hit the elephant and then flung through the air and fell on the ground 20 feet away. The baby elephant got hit while crossing the road with a group of wild pachyderms.
The viral video was shared by Reuters on December 21. In the one-minute clip, Srivate can be seen giving the elephant Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while the elephant is lying on its side, unconscious on the road. After sometime, the baby elephant revived and was shifted to a vehicle. Mana's colleagues were treating the injured motorist lying few meters away.
Watch the video here:
The paramedic was on a road trip late night on Sunday when he was called into action to save the elephant's life. He also said that this is the first time in his 26 years as a rescue worker when he performed CPR on an elephant. It took almost 10 minutes to revive the injured baby elephant and he stood up after a few compressions.
While talking to the agency on phone, Mana said that it is his instinct to save lives but he was worried the whole time because he could hear the mother and other elephants calling for the injured baby. He also added that he assumed where its heart would be based on human body theory and a video clip he had seen online.
"When the baby elephant starting to move, I almost cried," said Mana. According to reports, both the motorist and elephant are recovering and neither of them has any serious injuries.
After the incident, the baby elephant was shifted to another location for treatment and was later returned to the accident site, so it could be reunited with its mother. Mana also told that after the baby was calling out to its mother, elephants soon returned. Mana also informed that he had dealt with dozens of road accidents involving humans but this baby elephant was the first victim he revived after performing CPR.