5 more dead elephants located by drone at Khao Yai park waterfall

PHOTO: One of the elephants spotted on Saturday before disappearing in the forest – AFP

Sending up the video-enabled drones at the Khao Yai National Park, north east of Bangkok, has spotted five more dead elephants. Park officials are still working out how to retrieve the bodies of six others dead elephants in the same area after a herd stumbled into a ravine over the weekend. The area where the elephants died is in Pak Phli district of Nakhon Nayok.

The five additional elephant bodies were located near the Haew Narok waterfall close to the same location where six others were found on Saturday.

The total of eleven dead elephants is one of the biggest losses to Thailand’s wild elephant population in a national park on record. Officials believe all were from the same herd. The reason the herd plunged into the ravine remains unknown although authorities speculated a younger elephant may have strayed and the older elephants were rushing to save it.

A huge net, capable of handling weights up to 40 tonne, has been erected further downstream in case the bodies are washed further down the ravine. They are trying to prevent the rotting bodies from polluting the downstream reservoir. Authorities also want to examine the beasts to try and find more clues about the incident.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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