Thailand captures wild elephant that killed man in February
Bangkok, March 22 (EFE).- Thai authorities captured a wild elephant that killed a person last month and released it Tuesday in a natural park in the east of the country, official sources told EFE.
Prachinburi National Parks Director Amnaj Muangpang said the elephant was captured Monday night in an operation involving about 200 people after shooting it with tranquilizers.
The 25-years-old pachyderm called Sidor Noke, was transferred in a truck to the Khao Ang Rue Nai natural park, where he was released Tuesday morning.
On Feb. 24, the animal attacked a 73-year-old neighbor who was collecting vegetables and wild fruit, local media reported.
Authorities said they will install a GPS device on the elephant for its monitoring in the protected area, of about 1,000 sqkms.
Numerous farm invasions by wild elephants and sometimes attacks on people have been recorded in recent years, due in part to habitat loss and increasing urbanization.
According to some animal protection groups, some 3,000 wild elephants currently live in Thailand’s forests threatened by increasing deforestation, compared to 300,000 pachyderms that populated the country more than a century ago. EFE
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