Jumbo Fatality

A man looks at a dead elephant which is believed to have died from eating cabbages contaminated with chemicals in Chiang Mai’s MaeTaeng district yesterday.


Two elephants were caught up in separate tragedies yesterday. One was poisoned to death after eating crops in Chiang Mai, while the other suffered for 12 hours without help after having its legs broken in a road accident in Sa Kaeo.

Officials rushed to Sa Kaeo province's Chong Tako mountain at 2pm where they used a crane to lift the pachyderm, weighing about two tonnes, on to a military vehicle which transported it to an elephant hospital in Surin province.

Veterinarians said the elephant, "Pang Taen", suffered severe injuries to the legs and head,but she was now safe. They are planning further treatment.

"Pang Taen", a 10-year-old female elephant, was thrown from a truck and crushed by it when the driver lost control of the vehicle while driving down Chong Tako mountain in Sa Kaeo's Ta Phraya district yesterday.

Lying on one side, Pang Taen frequently shrieked in pain. Only the tears coming out of her eyes seemed to offer a break of relief in her long, desperate wait for rescue.

The accident killed Liang Sala-ngam, 57, on the spot while six others, including a boy, was wounded.

They were all travelling in the 10-wheel truck en route to an elephant camp in Pattaya to take Pang Taen for breeding.

Somsak Salangam, the elephant's owner from Surin province, was not injured because he was not in the truck when it slid down the hillside.

Earlier, the driver stopped the vehicle and asked Mr Somsak to block its wheels with logs and rocks. The accident occurred just before he finished the job.

Hema Sapmak, village head of Pon Ngern in Buri Ram's Satuk district, which is famous for elephant training camps, was deeply saddened when he learned of Pang Taen's tragedy.

He called upon the government to make more serious efforts to help Owners & Mahouts countrywide who cannot earn enough money to feed their elephants and are forced to earn more by taking them to work in distant provinces.

He said more than 60 elephants had left his neighbourhood for work, leaving only three in the village.

In Chiang Mai, officials are searching for two further elephants who had eaten cabbages believed to be contaminated with pesticides after "Plai Somjai", a 16-year-old male pachyderm from an elephant camp in Mae Taeng district, died after eating the vegetables at a local farm.

The two had reportedly fallen sick and escaped deep into a local forest, it is not known at this point their condition, but it is feared they may also suffer the same fate as "Plai Somjai"!.

Source: Bangkok Post 30th May 2009