A wild bull elephant named Oyewan has killed a 65-year-old Thai tourist in Khao Yai National Park, marking its third linked fatality.
BANGKOK: A wild bull elephant has killed a tourist in central Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park.
The 65-year-old Thai man from Lopburi province was trampled to death while on a morning walk with his wife on Monday, according to national park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong.
His wife escaped unharmed after park rangers intervened to scare the animal away.
The elephant, named Oyewan, is linked to two previous human fatalities and may be responsible for other unsolved deaths, Chaiya said.
Authorities are set to meet to decide on a course of action for the animal.
“We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behaviour,” Chaiya stated, without providing further details.
Official figures show more than 220 people have been killed by wild elephants in Thailand since 2012.
The wild elephant population in the country has surged from 334 in 2015 to nearly 800 last year.
Authorities have begun administering contraceptive vaccines to female elephants to manage the growing population.
This incident follows other fatal encounters, including a Spanish tourist killed at a sanctuary last January and another tourist death in a northern national park in December 2024.
