CHIANG MAI: Seven elephants suffered serious burns to their mouths and tongues from eating grass contaminated with the herbicide paraquat at a border village in Omkoi district.
Five of them were reported to be in critical condition.
The paraquat poisoning occured at Khorphator village late on Thursday night. The domesticated elephants had been set free to forage for food, and ate the grass at nearby farms which had been sprayed with the banned chemical.
Veterinarians and rescue workers were rushed to help after the elephants’ distress was reported to Chiang Mai University’s Centre for…
