Thiruvananthapuram: Elephants in Kerala will soon have the luxury of 'ambulance' service to transport sick and injured jumbos. For the first time, the state Forest Department has launched an animal ambulance, a specially designed vehicle for elephants at the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), a paradise of wild jumbos in north Kerala.

A modified lorry, the 'ambulance' vehicle will be used mainly for the transportation of injured and tranquilised elephants for their translocation during the time of emergencies and to ferry 'kumkis' (domesticated elephants) from other places, department officials said.