BANGKOK: A wild bull elephant killed a tourist in central Thailand's Khao Yai National Park on Monday (Feb 2), a park official said, the third fatality linked to the same animal. The 65-year-old Thai tourist from Lopburi province was out for a morning walk with his wife when he was trampled to death by an elephant named Oyewan, national park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong told AFP. Wild elephant numbers in Thailand rose from 334 in 2015 to almost 800 last year, prompting authorities to administer contraceptive vaccines to female animals in an effort to control their ballooning population. An elephant killed a Spanish tourist while she was bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand in January last year. Another tourist was killed by an elephant at a national park in Loei province in northern Thailand in December 2024.

Source: The Star February 02, 2026 17:40 UTC