Civet rescued after escaping Thailand wildfires

Civet rescued after escaping Thailand wildfires

This is the moment a civet was rescued after escaping from raging forest fires that have killed three people in northern Thailand.

The badly burned Asian palm civet was seen crawling across a road next to the Doi Suthep mountain in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on Saturday morning (April 4).

It had fled from fierce forest first - believed to have been caused by humans - which had ravaged hundreds of acres of forest and left three people dead.

Firefighter Sukanya Ruangpratheep was working in the area to tackle the blaze when she noticed the exhausted and dehydrated creature dragging itself across the mountain road.

The animal appeared thirsty and weary while its eyes were bleeding and partially blinded caused by the fire.

Other parts of it body, mouth, tongue, and paws, were burned with severe injuries.

Sukanya and her family gave the wounded animal water while gently putting it into a rescue sack.

The Asian palm civet, a mammal which most resembles a type of cat, was later taken to vets at nearby national park where staff nicknamed her 'Ranger'.

They said the name was testament to her strength and tolerance.

Sukanya said: ''The poor creature had been burned badly around her eyes and her mouth when we found her.

She could hardly move and would have been hit by a car if nobody had seen her in time.

''We picked her up and took her to a checkpoint so vets could give emergency treatment as quickly as possible.'' Ranger has been kept under close observation since being found.

She has recovered well after three days of treatment and can now eat soft food fed to her by the doctor.

Sukanya added: ''Her symptoms have improved and she's much stronger.

She is getting better.

''Chewing food is not easy for her at the moment, but she has no broken bones or no damage to her internal organs.'' Ministers have been concerned by the forest fires in northern Thailand, with soldiers and rescue teams using helicopters to drop water onto the blazes.

They are believed to have been started by hunters and foragers who light camp fires while trawling the woods for food.

Dry conditions have also contributed to the spread of the fires.

They have lead to Chiang Mai becoming one of the worst places the world for air quality.

It was has been consistently recorded as ''very unhealthy'' by Air Visual during two months of forest fires.