Elephant brutality: Wild Thai Park shooting sparks probe
In Loei, Royal Thai Police has been solicited by park authorities to uncover the culprit behind a recent act of elephant brutality in Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary in this northeastern region. A wild bull elephant was confirmed to be the unfortunate victim of the cruel act.
This horrific elephant brutality discovery was made near a forest creek located within the Sri Song Rak sector of the Dan Sai district yesterday morning. Speculation from officials at Phu Luang suggests that the deceased appears to have been part of a roaming trio of elephants, who had been sighted near local farmland in the preceding two months.
Numerous attempts made by park rangers to guide the trio back into the forest turned out futile. As a result, the neighbouring inhabitants were cautioned to exercise extra care when embarking on night-time latex tapping activities, due to the potential dangers posed by these prowling elephants.
An early examination pinpoints the estimated age of the elephant victim to be around the 30 year mark, with the death dating back to approximately five to seven days prior, reported Bangkok Post.
Nares Sriburin, a standout staff member at the wildlife sanctuary, made known the disturbing findings that the slain elephant’s skull had been riddled with six or seven bullets.
Based on the trajectory of these gunshot wounds, it can be deduced that the fatal shots were likely to have been delivered from a higher vantage point. This is thought to be a deliberate targeting of the smallest elephant among the formerly roaming trio, further deepening this elephant brutality mystery.
In a saddening update from Thailand’s wildlife scene, Tula, a 10 month old orphaned elephant, tragically passed away despite dedicated care. To better understand the circumstances surrounding Tula’s unfortunate demise, a thorough post-mortem examination will be carried out.
This examination aims to reveal any additional factors that might have played a role in the elephant’s untimely death. Read more HERE.
