A herd of wild elephants from Kaeng Krachan National Park has been spotted looking for water at Pa La Oo forest in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district, in the wake of a severe drought in the area.
A helicopter survey on the park’s inner forest area three days earlier had found all the creeks dried up, while small water sources in Pa La Oo and the nearby Pa Deng forest were drastically lower.
Despite the authority’s operation the following day to re-fill water sources in the national park with 100,000 litres of water, between 20 and 40 elephants from the park’s inner area have been seeking water at Pa La Oo and Pa Deng every evening.
This prompted park chief Kamon Nuanyai to instruct officials to monitor the herd in a bid to prevent them straying into nearby farmlands, while soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division have been refilling park water sources.
Meanwhile, a villager in Surat Thani’s Khiri Ratthanikhom district was shocked to find a 30kg bearcat in her home compound early yesterday morning.
Following a complaint filed by homeowner Panan Khampira, police, a district veterinarian and rescue workers took one hour to capture the animal.
It is thought the animal was looking for food because of a lack of water in the Khlongyan Wildlife Sanctuary after no rain has fallen there for three months.
The animal, thought to be seven years old, will be sent to the Phang Nga Wildlife Research Station for rehabilitation and returned to the forest, sanctuary official Noppadol Jitthiang said.