Wild Elephant Claims His 3rd Human Victim
A wild elephant walks in Thailand's Khao Yai National Park. (Getty Images/suriya silsaksom)
A morning walk in one of Thailand’s best-known national parks turned tragic when a wild elephant fatally trampled a tourist, officials said. Authorities at Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand reported that a 65-year-old man from Lopburi province was killed Monday by a bull elephant known as Oyewan.
The man had been walking with his wife when the elephant suddenly charged. Park rangers were able to drive the animal away, allowing the woman to escape, park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong told AFP, according to the Straits Times.
Chaiya said the same elephant has been linked to three confirmed deaths and may also be responsible for other unresolved incidents, though he did not provide additional details.
Park officials are scheduled to meet Friday to determine how to manage the elephant. Options under consideration include relocating the animal or attempting to change its behavior, Chaiya said.
The incident underscores increasing tensions between people and Thailand’s growing wild elephant population. Since 2012, more than 220 people, including foreign visitors, have reportedly died in encounters with wild elephants. Recent cases include the death of a Spanish tourist at an elephant sanctuary in southern Thailand last January and another tourist death at a national park in Loei province the previous month, according to CBS News.
Authorities say the country’s wild elephant population has more than doubled over the past decade to nearly 800 animals, leading officials to use contraceptive vaccines on female elephants in an effort to manage the population.
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