Elephant survives road accident after CPR

Category: Human Interest

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. resuscitation / rɪ sʌs ɪˈteɪ ʃən / (n) – the act of bringing a person or animal back to an awake or active state
    Example:

    The doctors attempted resuscitation, but unfortunately, the man died.


  2. off duty / ˈɔfˈdu ti / (adj) – not working at a given time
    Example:

    The officer was off duty, but he was still wearing his uniform.


  3. revive / rɪˈvaɪv / (v) – to bring someone or something back to life, health, etc.
    Example:

    I tried to revive my dying plant by watering it more often.


  4. pachyderm / ˈpæk ɪˌdɜrm / (n) – a type of large animal that has thick skin and hooves (ex. elephants, hippos)
    Example:

    My son loves to see the pachyderm exhibits at the zoo.


  5. dazed / deɪzd / (adj) – confused and unable to act or think normally
    Example:

    He looked dazed after getting punched in the face.


Article

Read the text below.

Mana Srivate has performed dozens of resuscitation attempts in his 26 years as a rescue worker in Thailand, but never before on an elephant.


Mana was called into action while off duty on a road trip late on Dec. 20, successfully reviving a baby elephant struck by a motorcycle while crossing a road with a group of wild pachyderms in the eastern province of Chanthaburi.


In a video that went viral on Thai social media on Dec. 21, Mana is seen giving two-handed compressions to a small elephant lying on its side as colleagues a few meters away treat a dazed and injured motorcycle rider. The rider and elephant were recovering and neither had serious injuries.


“I assumed where an elephant heart would be located based on human theory and a video clip I saw online,” Mana said. “When the baby elephant started to move, I almost cried.”


The elephant stood up after about 10 minutes and was taken to another location for treatment, before being returned to the scene of the accident in the hope of being reunited with its mother. The elephants soon returned when the mother heard her baby calling out, Mana said. (Reuters)


This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Would you ever consider doing CPR on an animal? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Would you ever consider doing CPR on a stranger during the Covid-19 pandemic? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think it’s important for everyone to know how to do CPR, or should it be done only by trained professionals? Why? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • Someone took a video of Mana doing CPR on the elephant while other people helped the injured motorcycle rider. Do you think it’s important to take videos like this to share with others later, or should the person taking the video put down his/her phone and help? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think the driver should be punished for hitting the elephant, or do you think it was an unavoidable accident? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think it’s possible to lessen the number of car and motorcycle accidents with wild animals? Why or why not? Discuss.