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Five wild elephants trample Thai man to death
BANGKOK, June 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Thai man was trampled to death by five
wild elephants near a rubber plantation Friday, police said, the latest
deadly encounter in a country where pachyderms are both venerated and feared.
Masaree Samae, 40, was killed in the early morning attack in southern Yala
province, home to many of Thailand’s sprawling rubber plantations. “The
victim was riding his motorbike on the way to tap rubber… and was circled
by five elephants,” police captain Sathit Woonchoom told AFP by phone.
“I conducted the autopsy with a doctor and found wounds on his back and
head,” Sathit said.
The officer said he heard elephants rustling in the bushes near when he
arrived at the scene to investigate.
Thailand’s wild elephant population has dwindled to about 2,700 from a
peak of 100,000 in 1850, according to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre.
Deforestation and habitat loss has brought them in closer contact with
humans in recent decades, and they often clash with villagers — sometimes
killing them.
Villagers have also killed the elephants despite them being a protected
species.
Elephants are also poached or domesticated for entertainment and tourism.
Thailand has come under fire for its notorious elephant tourism trade and
the threatened animals are widely used in circus performances, to give rides,
or in films and on TV.
In November last year a five-tonne elephant that has starred in feature
films and commercials crushed its owner to death in Chiang Mai.
The animal was in musth — a state of high aggression among males
accompanied by a hormonal surge — when the accident happened, zoo officials
said.
Two wild elephants were killed earlier this year by a pineapple farm
worker who set up an electric fence set up to kill the creatures.
He was charged with poaching but quickly released on bail.
BSS/AFP/RY/1550 hrs