Elephant Hospital returns to Channel 5 for season 2 and this four-parter will again follow vets and animal conservationists with a mammoth task! They'll be treating massive elephant patients with a range of ailments! Nestled in the Thai forest the hospital is the world’s largest for elephants, and equipped with the latest medical technology they're using leading medical procedures to help cure cancer, herpes and even mental health issues. Conservationists Paul O’Donoghue and Katherine Connor are at hand to help the hospital’s vets, with the emergencies arriving daily into the A&E ward and daily care needed for its residents.
So here's all you need to know about series 2 of Channel 5's Elephant Hospital...
Elephant Hospital release date
Elephant Hospital is back for a four-episode series on Channel 5 from Tuesday June 7 at 9pm 2022. Each episode of this 2022 series will also become available on streaming service My5.
What happens in Elephant Hospital season 2?
In the first week of Elephant Hospital season 2 it’s a very messy business and certainly not for the fainthearted when first through the hospital’s doors is seven-year-old bull elephant Bun, who’s suffering with a severe case of diarrhoea. "His bowels certainly aren’t healthy, it’s horrific to watch," says wildlife conservationist Paul O’Donoghue, as Bun struggles in agony. ‘Elephants are real eating machines, but Bun is off his food and elephants don’t turn down food unless they’re really ill. He’s a really sick elephant."
As Bun begins to deteriorate and become increasingly agitated, vets fear he could have the deadly elephant herpes virus and give him a laxative to help clear his bowels. But the team knows that the next 24 hours could be crucial. Meanwhile, the hospital vets must also deal with a male elephant who has been attacked by another bull and ended up with a dislocated shoulder, as well as 37-year-old female cancer survivor Thongdee.
Thongdee had a bladder tumour removed three years ago followed by intensive chemotherapy, but is back at the hospital for her regular six-month check-up. Because of her size, however, she has to be sedated and given oxygen via a pipe in her trunk for a three-hour endoscopy, which takes a detailed look at her bladder to see if the tumour has returned. Fortunately, everything looks healthy. But amazingly, her handlers also think she could be pregnant!
"The best news here is that the tumour has gone,’ says Paul. ‘It looks like Thongdee has a good few years survival ahead of her."
In episode 2, an elephant is brought into A&E with the suspected deadly herpes virus, and Paul helps the vets to try and save his life by attempting a blood transfusion. Kat helps one of the oldest female elephants as she is treated for an infected foot. And we visit the largest herd in the hospital swimming in the river.
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