Overview
- Park officials said a 65-year-old Thai tourist, identified as Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn of Lopburi province, was killed on Monday during a walk in Khao Yai National Park.
- Rangers scared the elephant, known as Oyewan, allowing the victim's wife to escape, according to the park chief.
- The park chief said this was the third confirmed fatality linked to Oyewan and noted the animal may also be connected to several unsolved deaths.
- Local reports said the bull appeared to be in musth and that the victim was grabbed, slammed to the ground, and stomped, with medics noting multiple broken limbs.
- Thailand has recorded more than 220 human deaths from encounters with wild elephants since 2012, with the wild population rising from 334 in 2015 to nearly 800 last year, prompting use of contraceptive vaccines; recent cases include a Spanish tourist’s death in January and a 2024 fatality in Loei province.