Accident Sa Kaeo: Wild Elephant Kills Cucumber Farmer Outside Wildlife Sanctuary

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of kaoded.

 

A 61-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant on the morning of 20 June, in the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary buffer zone in Sa Kaeo province, prompting urgent calls for increased patrols and long-term conflict mitigation between humans and wildlife.

 

The attack occurred around 07:00, in Village 9, Ban Tha Ten, Phra Phloeng subdistrict, Khao Chakan district. The victim, Mr. Joomkham Jaisawang, was reportedly sleeping in a small hut guarding his cucumber farm located just 1.5 kilometres outside the protected sanctuaryboundary, when a lone wild elephant entered the area, demolished the hut and fatally attacked him.

 

Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), including Mr. Kongkiat Temtamnan, Director of Protected Area Regional Office 2, and Lt. Col. Saneh Detsupa, investigator from Khao Chakan Police Station, visited the scene alongside local administrators and rescue workers from Sawang Sa Kaeo Foundation.

 

According to preliminary examinations, the victim was found face-down with multiple traumatic injuries and severe head trauma, consistent with an elephant trampling. Family members stated that Mr. Joomkham had gone out to tend his field at 20:00 the night before. By morning, villagers discovered the body and alerted authorities.

 

Village headman Thanakorn Thewin confirmed the victim was temporarily residing in Ban Tha Ten, having moved from Chaiyaphum province to rent farmland. His wife said she last heard from him the previous evening before learning of his death early the next day.

 

Mr. Ekachai Saendee, chief of the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, visited the victim’s family to offer condolences and provided an initial funeral support payment of 5,000 baht. He also outlined the state’s compensation and conflict resolution procedures under existing wildlife damage mitigation programmes.

 

He noted that sanctuary rangers had been actively monitoring and diverting elephants in the area based on prior community alerts, but the attack occurred unexpectedly and tragically.

 

To prevent future incidents, Mr. Ekachai revealed that his team is urgently seeking to expand rapid response patrol units. Currently, only five rangersmonitor a 60-kilometre-long forest border spanning three districts: Wang Sombun, Wang Nam Yen and Khao Chakan. With rising elephant movements and limited manpower, effective control remains a serious challenge.

 

“We are proposing an additional mobile unit dedicated solely to Sa Kaeo province,” he said. “This would significantly improve our capacity to intervene before tragedies like this occur.”

 

The incident is the latest in a series of escalating human-wildlife conflicts in eastern Thailand, where habitat fragmentation, crop encroachment and elephant migration paths intersect with rural livelihoods. Authorities have pledged to improve surveillance, reinforce sanctuary borders, and implement long-term coexistence strategies.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Kaoded 2025-06-21