BangkokPost-Mar 5
The death of a 20-year-old wild elephant during relocation in Loei has intensified scrutiny of the government’s handling of escalating human-elephant conflict in the Northeast. Seedor Hu Pub died during a translocation operation intended to return it to its original habitat in the Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary. The incident has prompted public concern over wildlife protection and exposed mounting tensions between rural communities and roaming herds. The relocation followed a ruling by the Khon Kaen Administrative Court last November ordering the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation to remove four aggressive wild elephants from farmland in Khon Kaen’s Phu Wiang district. Locals had petitioned the court, citing fatalities among family members and severe crop losses blamed on elephant incursions. In compliance with the order, officials began moving the animals. Conservation officials warn that the Northeast, particularly the Phu Khieo–Nam Nao Forest Complex, which includes Phu Luang, risks becoming the country’s second major conflict hotspot after the Eastern Forest Complex. Figures show 638 wild elephants inhabit the Phu Khieo–Nam Nao forest complex. Last year alone, officials recorded 828 instances of elephants straying beyond forest boundaries, resulting in four injuries and six deaths. The department paid 37.24 million baht in compensation between last April and this February to 706 affected households, covering loss of life, crop damage, and property destruction. Nationally, 4,629 wild elephants live across 16 forest complexes and 91 conservation areas, with 71 zones experiencing some level of confrontation, he said. Casualties have risen sharply over two decades.
Officials are pursuing multiple strategies, including increasing natural food sources within forests, curbing encroachment and strengthening community patrols. Read more at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3210175/the-growing-cost-of-elephant-intrusions.
