Nine Wild Elephants Damage Homes and Crops in Surat Thani

Nine wild elephants left the Khao Khrung National Park forest area and invaded agricultural land and homes in the Pa Soy Thong area, Village 7, Pak Mak subdistrict, Chaiya district, Surat Thani province, causing property and crop damage late on the night of October 30, 2026. Mr. Suchart Chomklin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, disclosed that he received a report from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation regarding the situation. He immediately instructed the department to deploy staff alongside community leaders to closely monitor public safety, expedite aid and compensation for affected residents according to government regulations, and safely drive all elephants back into the forest. Mr. Yongyut Nakviroj, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, added that according to a report from Mr. Kittisak Chukaeo, Chief of Khao Khrung National Park, on October 29 at around 1:00 AM, the elephant monitoring team was alerted by locals that nine elephants had emerged to feed outside the forest in the Pa Soy Thong area. Following the alert, park officials coordinated with the village headman and community leaders to inspect the damage immediately. They found residences damaged with some partially collapsed, as well as damaged signal poles and numerous household electrical appliances. Crop damage included nine 10-year-old coconut trees, eleven 20-year-old areca palm trees, and one 3-year-old durian tree. The Director-General stated that Khao Khrung National Park is now coordinating with affected parties to gather evidence and process compensation claims according to relevant regulations. Strict monitoring teams have been deployed to prevent elephants from returning to the community, and public safety warnings have been issued for both residents and the elephants.