November 13, 2025
BANGKOK – At around 11.30am on November 12, 2025, a tragic scene unfolded when three wild elephants were found dead inside a fruit orchard in Ban Khlong Ta In, Moo 9, Khlong Phlu subdistrict, Khao Khitchakut district, Chanthaburi province. One of the elephants was identified as a well-known local tusker named “Plai Muan.”
Chawinth Phinkaew, chief of Khao Khitchakut National Park, led a team of park officers and a rapid-response unit to the scene, accompanied by village headman Bamrung Chomchalao of Moo 9 and officers from Khao Khitchakut Police Station.
At the first site, located along the edge of the fruit plantation, officials discovered the body of Plai Muan, a male elephant about 30 years old and weighing roughly 5–6 tonnes. The initial examination suggested he had died from severe electric shock. His trunk and mouth still held an insulated electrical wire, as if he had been pulling or biting it when the current struck. Nearby, a broken insulator and damaged power pole were also found.
Early this morning, at around 6.30am, officials were alerted to two more elephant carcasses found about 100 metres from where Plai Muan had fallen. Both appeared to have died under similar circumstances, with metal wires suspected to be live electrical cables submerged in nearby water.
Chief Chawinth said the park has coordinated with the Protected Area Regional Office 2 (Sriracha) to send a veterinary team to perform autopsies on all three elephants to determine the exact cause of death. The park has also coordinated with the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary to file a police report and initiate legal proceedings against the orchard owner.
Meanwhile, Sukhee Boonsang, director of the Wildlife Conservation Office, has instructed rangers and rapid-response teams to intensify patrols and monitoring in the surrounding areas, as other wild elephants may still be nearby. The incident has deeply saddened officials and local villagers alike.
Preliminary findings suggest that the elephants were electrocuted by live wires used within the private fruit orchard. Authorities have pledged to investigate thoroughly and take legal action to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.
