🐘 Elephant in Thailand’s Wild Kills Tourist, Third Fatality Tied to Same Animal Like a towering presence in a place where the jungle breathes close to the paths of visitors, a wild elephant at Thailand’s famed Khao Yai National Park has again altered the quiet rhythm of the campgrounds with a tragic confrontation. Early on Monday morning, the stillness of dawn was broken by an encounter between a roaming bull elephant and a tourist — an encounter that proved fatal and marks the third known death linked to this same animal.
Park officials say the victim, a 69-year-old Thai tourist from Lopburi province, was walking near his tent in the park’s Khlong Pla Kang campground when he came upon the wild bull elephant known locally as Plai Oi Wan. Without warning, the elephant charged, grabbed him with its trunk and trampled him, killing him about 20 metres from his tent. Other campers remained sheltered in fear until rangers and police arrived and managed to drive the elephant away.
Authorities have confirmed that this is the third fatal attack linked to the same bull elephant, which had previously been connected to at least two other deadly incidents in and around the park. Officials believe the animal was in musth — a periodic condition in male elephants that can make them especially aggressive — when it left the forest and came close to the campground.
In the wake of the attack, national park officials and police said they will meet this week to decide how best to respond. Options include relocating the elephant away from areas frequented by tourists, or attempting behavioural management measures to reduce the risk of further deadly encounters. Rangers have also increased patrols around popular camping zones to monitor elephant movements more closely.
Encounters between people and wild elephants are not uncommon in Thailand, where the elephant population has risen in recent years. Since 2012, authorities report that more than 220 people, including tourists, have died in similar incidents in the country’s forests and parks.
Amid growing concerns about human-wildlife conflict, the latest tragedy underscores the delicate balance between conservation, tourism, and safety — and the challenge authorities face in protecting both visitors and the remarkable wildlife that draws them to Thailand’s natural places.
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📰 Sources (Credible Mainstream) PressNewsAgency CNA / AFP Khaosod English Yahoo News UK summary of AFP/Reuters/Bangkok Post Straits Times (AFP report)