Prachin Buri plantations raided by 80 wild elephants looking for food
Local officials closed a road in Chachoengsao province on Friday in an attempt to prevent over 80 wild elephants from feeding on cash crops.
A section of Ban Na Yao Road was closed to traffic, as a large group of administrative officials and military officers attempted to chase the elephants back to the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, from where the animals had escaped.
Sapthawee Kulsaree, chief executive of the Tha Kradan Tambon Administrative Organisation in Chachoengsao, said that failure to push the elephants back would result in damage to plantations.
The wildlife sanctuary covers an area of 1,030 square kilometres spanning five provinces – Chachoengsao, Sa Kaeo, Rayong, Chanthaburi, and Chonburi.
About 40 elephants from the herd managed to cross into Kabin Buri district of Chachoengsao’s neighbouring Prachin Buri province, where they began feeding on sugarcane plantations.
A group of local officials and volunteers attempted to scare them away with firecrackers.
A volunteer who took part in the operation said that a large area of sugarcane plantations was destroyed by the wild elephants. He said that events like this had occurred frequently in recent months.
The volunteer said the wild elephants from the wildlife sanctuary seemed to have developed a taste for crops like sugarcane, bananas, cassava and fruits, which are abundant in the area.
“The foods here taste better and are easier to find than in the forest,” he said.
