Much More Detail on Desire

Daily field journal entries for March 2-11 are now on Field Trip Earth.

NC Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis offers detailed reports of Desire's run-in with an elephant and transport to hospital. (Photos of his injuries reveal how fortunate Desire was not to have been killed.)

Troubles with bees in camp escalated to the March 5 entry, which ended with another insect problem. "At midnight, I was awakened by what I thought was rain. I turned on my light and saw that my tent was covered with thousands of ants."

The March 6 entry tells of Desire chasing the darted elephant, then running back past Mike with an elephant in pursuit of him. Moments later: "As I approached him, he said "Mike, I'm going to die.""

"The night seemed to go on forever." That is how the March 6 entry ends. Desire was injured at 10:30 a.m. At 6:30 p.m., after hours of difficult hiking with Desire on a stretcher, they decide to walk all night using headlamps.

An hour later a storm makes them set up camp in a swamp in two inches of water. They had to wait, cold and wet, for day break due to the now very treacherous, wet trail.

There was still a long way to go to reach hospital.