Toxic material may have caused gaurs' deaths
The Sunday Nation

The death of eight gaurs in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Kui Buri National Park between December 2 and December 20 might have resulted from exposure to toxic material, the provincial livestock development office's veterinarian said yesterday.

Officials collected water samples from 12 water sources in the forest, blood samples of neighbouring farms' 13 sick cows and some pesticide samples that were used in the nearby farms for tests at the Bangkok-based Kasetsart University's National Institute of Animal Health, veterinarian Saroj Chanlad said. The test results should be out within this month, he added. The eight gaurs were healthy and weighed over 1,500 kilograms and might have died at around the same time, possibly from exposure to toxic material via a nearby water source, according to Saroj.

In the meantime, the Protected Areas Regional Office 3 chief Saratcha Suriyakul Na Ayudhaya has instructed park officers to prevent more elephants and other animals from using water sources suspected to be toxic, pending test results.

In related news, a 20-year-old elephant from Surat Thani's Tai Rom Yen National Park was electrocuted. Its carcass was found yesterday past midnight. Its leg got entangled in an electricity wire from a makeshift fence that some farmers had set up to prevent elephants from entering the rubber plantation. This was the second case of the park's elephant being electrocuted.

-- The Nation 2013-12-22

Toxic material? Thailand? They just announced yesterday in this newspaper that there is no concern for any livestock about disease, toxins, or health issues.

Toxic material probably equals poison laid to kill them.

Toxic waste can be found anywhere as long as prices for processing it normal are higher than just dumping it in some stream or wood.

Toxic material? Thailand? They just announced yesterday in this newspaper that there is no concern for any livestock about disease, toxins, or health issues.

And as I posted yesterday K. Newin would insist " say anything else and you are not patriotic. "

White Lies and Thainess.

It's a bit sad to be living in Thailand at a time when wildlife is dissipating. Thais have already spent decades/centuries eliminating as many wild species as they can. We're at the tail end of that, as there isn't much left to nurture. Currently, there are essentially no wild mammals in all of northern Thailand, except rats and bats. If you're lucky, you may see a little squirrel about once a year, if you walk in the countryside every day.

the Protected Areas Regional Office 3 chief Saratcha Suriyakul Na Ayudhaya has instructed park officers to prevent more elephants and other animals from using water sources suspected to be toxic, pending test results.

Putting up warning signs should do the trick, I guess.

they all ate some thai rice cooked in an aluminium pot ?

As an old guy who loves the wildlife here in Thailand. It is disturbing.

Not surprising, but disturbing.

I've been watching a PBS special on US's National Parks. Titled 'America's Best Idea.' Developing and maintaining large beautiful parks is not easy. Americans, Canadians and a few other nationalities are getting rather good at it. Asians don't have a clue. Thais don't even have the wherewithall to set up little parks in cities and towns. Bangkok is a failure with city parks. Its biggest one is small. Asians can't fathom the concept of big beautiful parks in their own countries, because to them, all animals and plants must be used in some manner. To use a plant or animal, you must kill it. From an Asian perspective, preservation of nature is for sissies, or they think it's not possible, or not even worth considering.

I've been watching a PBS special on US's National Parks. Titled 'America's Best Idea.' Developing and maintaining large beautiful parks is not easy. Americans, Canadians and a few other nationalities are getting rather good at it. Asians don't have a clue. Thais don't even have the wherewithall to set up little parks in cities and towns. Bangkok is a failure with city parks. Its biggest one is small. Asians can't fathom the concept of big beautiful parks in their own countries, because to them, all animals and plants must be used in some manner. To use a plant or animal, you must kill it. From an Asian perspective, preservation of nature is for sissies, or they think it's not possible, or not even worth considering.

The Koreans are pretty good at it. Have been to many of their national and provincial parks. Same in Japan. Calm down with the "Asians" thing here. Maybe it isn't as developed as it should be in Thailand? Examples?

It's a bit sad to be living in Thailand at a time when wildlife is dissipating. Thais have already spent decades/centuries eliminating as many wild species as they can. We're at the tail end of that, as there isn't much left to nurture. Currently, there are essentially no wild mammals in all of northern Thailand, except rats and bats. If you're lucky, you may see a little squirrel about once a year, if you walk in the countryside every day.

" dissipating " ?

Some nice images of Gaur on this page for those who may not have seen them before - http://www.indochine-safari.com/wildlife-spotlight-gaur/

Anyone still following this? It is at 20 dead now. And keeps growing. Not sure anyone knows what is going on. But the park services are getting hammered for it.

Should check if Monsanto is doing any 'research' in the area.