Two Phuket Livestock officials injured as elephant bolts

2017-01-23 - Phuket, Thailand.

The injuries occurred when one elephant, believed to have been spooked by another, bolted during official’s inspection of the Safari elephant camp in Saiyuan, Rawai. At 11:30am on Saturday, Capt Somkiet Sarasit of the Chalong Police was informed of an incident where an elephant had bolted at the Safari elephant camp Rawai leaving two persons injured.

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Singapore-based Australian injured by elephant in Phuket

2016-11-01 - Phuket, Thailand.

An Australian man who is a resident of Singapore was injured by an elephant in Thailand´s Phuket island on Monday, say local officials. The incident happened on Mai Khao beach on the northern end of the island. The injured man, who is warded at Bangkok Hospital on the resort island, is currently in a stable condition, Mr Sarawut Sisakukam, chief of Mai Khao sub-district administrative organisation, told The Straits Times on Tuesday night. Officials did not name the man.

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Elephant Nadia Forced to Quit Phuket Resort

2015-04-09 - Phuket, Thailand. Prasit Tarnsirisin and Alan Morison

Nadia, a juvenile elephant that became target of an online petition to save her from a Phuket resort, has been moved. She has a new home, a new job - and a new name. Managers at the Marina Phuket Resort in Karon told the elephants owners to move her at the weekend from the resort because of an online campaign

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Livestock officers check reports of elephant abuse on Phuket

2015-04-06 - Phuket, Thailand. Nattha Thepbamrung

Taveesak Sawasdivej, an official with the Muang District Livestock, said that he had led a team to check three places that were accused of abusing elephants, but had found no evidence of this.“This month, we will survey every elephant camp and places that are reported to have elephants working. There will be an annual health check that will include checks on their microchips and the licenses.”

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Time to Ban The Big Boy Elephants on Phuket and in Phang Nga

2014-11-20 - Phuket, Thailand.

The bludgeoning to death of two elephant handlers over just three days this week in separate incidents shows how real the risk is any time that male elephants are used in the tourism industry. Two Russian tourists on board one of the out-of-control elephants were fortunate to escape injury or death.

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Baby elephant taken in by authorities after alleged smuggling to Phuket

2013-10-26 - Phuket, Thailand.

Kathu district chief officer Veera Kerdsirimongkol visited a coconut farm yesterday afternoon (October 25) in Baan Bangthong, Kathu, following a complaint. Here Mr Veera found a one-year-old baby elephant, named Sukjai, chained to a tree. The elephant is believed to have been smuggled to Phuket without any permit. At the scene was Prasop Jerkaew, 37, who is understood to have brought the elephant to Phuket from Phang Nga two days ago, and did not report it to authorities.

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Tighter regulation coming for Phuket’s elephant camps

2013-08-21 - Phuket, Thailand.

Elephant camp owners and officials met yesterday (August 20) to hammer out a code of management for the camps, which have so far been pretty much unhampered by regulations. In addition to the excess elephants, the meeting, held at Phuket City Municipality, discussed the smuggling of elephants onto the island, unregistered sales of elephants from one camp to another, hygiene – or the lack of it – at the elephant camps and the effect of elephant ‘pollution’ on the surrounding area.

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Elephant dies at Phuket trekking camp

2013-07-10 - Phuket, Thailand.

A 50-year-old female elephant called Wasana, died yesterday (July 9) after a long illness at the Baan Chang Safari elephant trekking camp on the Patong-Karon road. Weerasit Puthipairoj, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, told The Phuket News, “I was told the elephant was ill last week but was revived by a veterinary team. But today she collapsed again and died.”

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Elephant Smugglers Nabbed With Jumbos

2013-06-28 - Phuket, Thailand.

Smugglers attempting to transport three elephants onto Phuket illegally were nabbed by livestock officials at 3am today. Phuket Livestock Director Werasit Puphipairoj told Phuketwan today that he was aghast to find the elephant smugglers were carrying fake documents in his name. Nine people on two six-wheel trucks were apprehended, together with female adult elephants Kamsan, 26, Kanoon, 13, and a two-year-old male juvenile, Noppakao.

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Phuket"s Baby Elephant Stalk: Photo Special

2013-05-11 - Phuket, Thailand. Sert Tongdee

Two young elephants at Phuket camps, Dollar and Namphon, are suspected to have been poached and the legitimacy of another 61 elephants remains in question after raids yesterday. While the animals remain at the camps and further tests are to be undertaken on Phuket elephants, those found to have been poached will be confiscated.

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Phuket hosts single-day CITES program on ivory trade

2013-02-24 - Phuket, Thailand.

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) officers, non-governmental organizations and legal wildlife and fauna traders attended a one day meeting in Phuket as part of the 16th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) being held in Thailand. Members of the meeting expressed their gratitude for the honor of holding the event in Thailand, as the Kingdom attempts to buff its tarnished reputation for being an international tran...

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Laguna Phuket issues statement over baby elephants

2012-12-09 - Phuket, Thailand.

The management at Laguna Resorts & Hotels, which operates the five-hotel resort complex on Phuket’s west coast, have issued a statement about the baby elephant “Joey”, which was seized in raids in Phuket in February.

Ziya Birkan, Deputy Managing Director at Laguna Resorts & Hotels, wrote in the statement:

“We’re very pleased the authorities have resolved the question of Joey’s parentage through DNA testing, but obviously disapp...

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Phuket baby elephant probe sparks raids

2012-09-06 - Phuket, Thailand.

The inspection of elephant camps in Southern Thailand, geared to ensure that all pachyderms on the premises are legal, started on Monday and will include searches of the locations in Phuket where elephants were seized earlier this year.“We received an order on Monday from National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department [DNP] Director-General Damrong Phidet to send Regional Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division [NREC] officers to investigate elephant camps ...

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10 elephants seized from elephant camps in Phuket for inspection have NOT the same identity as that stated in their official papers.

2012-03-18 - Phuket, Thailand.

Police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division have confirmed that 27 out of 37 elephants seized from elephant camps in Phuket for inspection have the same identity as that stated in their official papers. Police seized the 37 elephants from four camps for inspection on February 27. Of the 27 "confirmed" elephants, nine belong to At Hill Adventure Tours 2009 camp and other 18 are owned by Siam Safari Nature Tours camp.

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Phuket welcomes newborn elephant Pang Saifon

2012-02-28 - Phuket, Thailand.

The owners of the Kinnari Elephant Camp in Rawai this morning announced the birth of a baby elephant at the camp. Pang Saifon, born at 1:49am, is the second elephant to be born at the camp. The newborn weighs 75 kilograms and is in perfect health, said Jirayu Nirunwiroj, a veterinarian from the Phuket Livestock Office’s Animal Health Development division.

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Phuket News - Status of elephants under investigation

2012-02-28 - Phuket, Thailand.

The legal status of 37 elephants is currently under investigation in Phuket, following official raids on four elephant trekking camps on the island on Monday. Nine elephants were seized from AT Hill Adventure Tour, eight from ATV Seaview Tour, two from Laguna Excursions in Cherng Talay and 18 from Siam Safari. All elephants are allowed to keep working, but cannot be moved from the camps until the investigation, which aims to determine the elephant’s legality, has been completed.

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Phuket News - Two young elephants found to be ‘illegal’

2012-02-27 - Phuket, Thailand.

Two of the three young elephants “seized” from elephant trekking camps in Phuket on February 10, have been confirmed as being linked to 19 elephants confiscated in Sai Yoke, Kanchanaburi Province, on January. The two animals, Popeye and Joey, were officially seized on February 10 but were left in place while authorities carried out checks to see whether they were related to the illegally held animals discovered in Sai Yoke.

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Phuket’s baby elephants under investigation

2012-02-15 - Phuket, Thailand.

Three elephant camps in Phuket are being investigated after concerns were raised about the origins of the baby elephants in their possession. Officers of Central Investigation Bureau of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok investigated Phuthai Souvenir Market in Chalong, ATV Elephant Camp near the Big Buddha image in Karon and Sheraton Camp in Cheng Talay to determine if the baby elephants were born in the wild or not. “We came down to examine the elephant camps in Phuket as part of our investigat...

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Phuket News - Three baby elephants seized in trek camp raids

2012-02-11 - Phuket, Thailand.

Representatives of the three camps, the Sheraton Elephant Camp in Cherng Talay, and the Phu Thai Review Souvenir Market and ATV Review Elephant Trekking Camp, both in Chalong, admitted they had rented the young elephants, which were being used to attract tourists, from an elephant camp in Sai Yoke District, Kanjanaburi Province.

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‘We’re not elephant killers’, say Phuket pair

2012-01-30 - Phuket, Thailand.

Jaruwan Wathanapumchoo and her brother Prasit yesterday publicly refuted all allegations that they were in any way involved in the trafficking of elephant meat to Phuket to serve as “exotic food” in selected restaurants. The public joint-statement, made at a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, follows allegations of elephant meat trading made against them by two national newspapers. According to Ms Jaruwan, both the Daily News and Thai Rath Today published articles stating ...

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Phuket"s Two-Time Rampaging Elephant Free to Keep Trekking

2011-09-23 - Phuket, Thailand. Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian

A rogue elephant responsible for two terrifying rampages on Phuket in which the legs of tourists were broken could already be back making elephant treks on Phuket. Captain, a 22-year-old male, attacked another elephant on a trek on September 12, leaving Ukrainian honeymooner Tetiana Meia, 26, still recovering today in a Phuket hospital from a compound leg fracture. Swedish tourist Gustav Karlsson, 31, suffered similar breaks when he leapt from the back of Captain in full rampage early last year.

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Phuket Tour Jeep Crash: One Dead, 10 Hurt

2010-01-17 - Phuket, Thailand. Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison

AN AUSTRALIAN tourist is dead and eight other Australians have been injured after a tour jeep ran off the Big Buddha road in southern Phuket today and toppled down a steep embankment. The vehicle came to rest after crashing into an adventure park and injuring a young elephant, tethered to a stake. The dead Australian, married in Sydney a week ago, was honeymooning on Phuket. His wife is among those in hospital, and she is now in a satisfactory condition.

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When a Phuket Elephant is Wounded in Action

2009-10-03 - Phuket, Thailand. Chutima Sidasathian

PHUKET'S elephant population is growing larger but then, when you're as popular as elephants are, everyone follows the herd. More camps and rides are springing up. The island now has 177 elephants, and all except the youngest one, born on January 1, have microchips under their ears. In theory, that makes them all carefully tabbed so that nothing strange or unforeseen can happen to them. This is a wise move because ivory remains a desirable commodity among poachers.

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The Amazing Race with baby

2009-09-08 - Phuket, Thailand.

As you expected, your family is the first team to arrive at Phuket. Congratulations! No time to hit the beach yet, however. You must first make your way to an elephant farm. Too bad you don’t speak Thai. However, as you cleverly take out your pad of paper and draw an elephant for the shuttle driver, he laughs so loud that it draws a large crowd, some of whom happen to speak English. In a flash, you are on your way.

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Living the FantaSea

2008-02-12 - Phuket, Thailand.

Sixteen decorated elephants parading together on one theatre stage is all part of FantaSea, a spectacular night's entertainment in Phuket. Thailand's national animal, a vehicle of war in olden times and still a beast of burden in the logging industry, is better known today in the tourism and showbiz industries. Elephant rides figure in most visitors' itineraries, and they're also on show at places such as the Maesa Camp near Chang Mai in the north where the jumbos frolic with each other in a riv...

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Thai time to return to Phuket

2007-04-02 - Phuket, Thailand. ROBIN PASH

A real elephant ride! And that's after a day-long speedboat sojourn, unlimited pool play, and thrice-daily bouncing, breezy tuk-tuk trips. We enjoyed boating and snorkelling around the gorgeous Phi-Phi islands and the hour-long ride through a rubber plantation on graceful Mali, the 27-year-old elephant, was enjoyed as much by father as it was by son.

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Elephants, mahouts without work, income

2005-01-21 - Phuket, Thailand. WASSANA NANUAM

More than 100 elephants and their mahouts have been put out of work by the Dec 26 tsunami. Elephant camp owners say they can not afford to keep the animals on the payroll because there are too few tourists paying to see the shows. Ten elephants and their handlers were laid off at the Phuket Elephant Ride camp alone. Before the tragedy the camp paid each mahout 12,000 baht per month.

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"Alexander" elephants join Thai search for bodies

2005-01-02 - PHUKET, Thailand. Karishma Vyas

Elephants joined the search for bodies in Thailand's tsunami-devastated coastal region on Sunday, clearing debris-strewn forests for rescue teams to retrieve rotting corpses.

Six jumbos, who featured in Oliver Stone's recent blockbuster "Alexander", were trucked in from an elephant camp in the ancient capital Ayuthaya, 800 km (500 miles) north of shattered Phuket island, to help speed up the search operation.

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Thai officials turn to "cadaver elephants"

2005-01-01 - Phuket, Thailand. UPI

Thai officials are using elephants to retrieve the bodies of the people who died in this week's deadly tsunamis, Sky News reported Saturday.
Two dozen elephants are moving through the resort island of Phuket and the mainland beaches of Khao Lak in a search for bodies, many of which are buried beneath the rubble of buildings and tons of sand and debris.

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24 years on Internet!

ELEPHANT NEWS was created on 2001 in Munich, and relaunched in Phnom Penh in 2020, with almost 8 000 links to news articles about elephants on the Internet. A number of articles now also have a cross reference to the elephant database, either for individuals elephants and/or to an article about the location holding

Elephants aid locals in creating firebreaks in Chiang Mai forest

2025-03-27 - Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In a united effort to prevent forest fires, a team of three elephants joined over 20 locals in constructing firebreaks in Chiang Mai’s Mae Taeng district on Wednesday. The initiative, led by Phra Kh...

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 Read about Plai Valentine in the Elephant Database

 Read about Saen Elephant Family Home in the Elephant Database

Wild tusker Kasera Komban found dead in abandoned septic tank

2025-03-27 - Cholamunda, India.

A Wild tusker, known as Kasera Komban, was found dead in abandoned septic tank in Kerala Malappuram. The tusker used to be affectionately called "Kasera Komban" due to its remarkably long tusks, which...

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 Read about Kasera Komban in the Elephant Database

Sedgwick County Zoo announces stillborn delivery of elephant calf

2025-03-18 - Wichita, United States.

The Sedgwick County Zoo announced Monday that 29-year-old African elephant Simunye delivered a stillborn calf following a healthy, full-term pregnancy. This would have marked the first elephant born a...

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 Read about Malaika in the Elephant Database

 Read about Sedgwick County Zoo in the Elephant Database

New Elephant Calf "Gauri" Born In Assam’s Kaziranga National Park

2025-03-08 - Guwahati, India.

A female elephant calf took birth in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. The newborn, named Gauri, is the offspring of an elephant named Phulmai, who resides within the protected area of Kaziranga.

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 Read about Gauri in the Elephant Database

 Read about Kaziranga unspecified elephant camp in the Elephant Database

TN: 60-year-old female elephant passes away in Trichy

2025-03-05 - Trichy, India.

A 60-year-old female elephant named Jaini, who was being cared for at the MR Palayam Government Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in Reserve Forest under the Trichy Forest Division, has passed away. The ...

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 Read about Jaini in the Elephant Database

 Read about M. R. Palayam Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (ERRC), in the Elephant Database

A Tribute to Paolo, Amboseli’s Iconic Elephant

2025-02-07 - Amboseli, Kenya.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paolo, one of Amboseli’s most famous and cherished elephants. At 46 years old, Paolo’s death marks the loss of a true giant, not only in size but ...

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 Read about Paolo in the Elephant Database

 Read about Amboseli National Park in the Elephant Database