Wild elephant transported from fearful Rayong community to sanctuary
It was an elephantine task: more than 100 Wildlife Conservation Office staffers came together on Wednesday to transport wild elephant “Phlai Nga Ge” from Rayong’s Khao Chamao district to Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
The sanctuary covers 643,750 rai of protected area spanning five provinces – Chachoengsao, Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi, Rayong and Chonburi.
The move came after villagers residing around Khao Chamao National Park filed complaints with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation that Phlai Nga Ge had wandered away from the park and had been trespassing on their lands to find food, leading to the community fearing for their safety.
At around 2am on Wednesday, officials used tranquiliser darts to subdue the 40-year-old pachyderm before performing a blood test and physical check-up on the animal.
They then used ropes to bind his four legs to prevent him from charging off and slowly pushed him onto a truck using an excavator.
The mission was completed at around 5am and the elephant was safely transported to Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary shortly after.
