Today, after more than six weeks of treatment and medical care the On 21 March, 10 endangered wild Sumatran elephants were found by WWF chained to trees without food or water in Balai Raja, Riau Province of Sumatra. They had been captured by the Provincial Forestry Service after raiding the crops of a nearby village. Severe infected wounds from the capture as well as from too tight chains on the legs put all of these elephants’ lives in danger. It appears that the elephants were captured using unsterilized tranquilizer darts, many of which were shot into sensitive areas of the body and became infected.

WWF has been providing food, water and emergency medical care to the elephants since finding them. Despite health treatment provided in collaboration with Yayasan Gajah Sumatra and BKSDA, on April 14, one elephant died because of tetanus due to an infection from the capture. On April 15, a female elephant that was fully recovered escaped from its chain and ran into the forest.

Below are the status and medical records of each of the 10 captured elephants, recorded from the first day they were found till the present