Man trampled by wild elephants

From correspondents in Bangkok

December 31, 2007 05:47pm

Article from: Agence France-Presse

A HERD of wild elephants has killed one man and injured another in southern Thailand.

The Bangkok Post said two men from Burma's Karen ethnic group were riding a motorcycle near the southern beach resort of Hua Hin yesterday when they came across the elephants blocking the road.

They tried to go around the herd, the English-language daily said, but an elephant charged the motorcycle and they crashed into a ditch.

The pachyderms then trampled the two men.

The 19-year-old driver of the motorcycle escaped with injuries and hid in a bush until local villagers rescued him, the paper said, while the man named only as Bird died of head injuries and broken bones.

Thailand's total elephant population is nearly 5000, with up to 2000 of them living in the wild, conservation groups say.

Source: www.news.com.au/

wild elephants are very unpredictable. Seen quite a few deep in the forests of Khao Yai, and always kept a respectful distance..

a herd will have its protector and when he/she runs, you'd better retreat pretty sharpish

just like

had to...

Very sad that the guy got killed. We had better remember just how protective they can be at times - as well as unpredictable. Suppose, that we think of them as being very big benign animals - only to our cost. Strange thing that here in Thailand, you don't seem to here of people being killed by 'water buffalo' and as I understand it they are far more dangerous than elephants - at least that was what a friend of mine from India told me.