Wild elephant kills patrol leader in Buriram village
A wildlife patrol leader was killed by a wild elephant in Buriram while attempting to drive the animals away from his village, as human-wildlife conflict intensifies along the Dong Yai forest boundary.
BURIRAM — On May 14, 2026, a Thai villager leading efforts to drive wild elephants away from communities near Dong Yai forest was killed after being attacked by an elephant inside a village in Buriram province, local residents said.
Weera Ratchawong, 66, chairman of the Dong Yai Wild Elephant Watch Network, was attacked at about 04:00 in Ban Khlong Hin Lat village in Non Din Daeng district while attempting to push elephants away from residential areas.
Residents living along the Dong Yai forest boundary said such incidents have become increasingly common, with several people reportedly killed by wild elephants each year as the animals frequently enter villages in search of food.
Prasit Jupamatang, 61, a wild elephant patrol officer in the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, said he arrived after receiving reports of the attack but found Weera had already died.
Weera's wife said local elephant patrol volunteers normally travel in groups of 14 when responding to villager reports, but her husband often went out alone. She said elephants had entered the village several times during the night before the fatal attack, with Weera leaving alone again shortly before 04:00.
Manat Yiamram, village headman of Ban Khlong Hin Lat, said wild elephants enter the community almost every day, usually in groups of one to three animals.
He said villagers are living in fear and called on authorities to address the situation more seriously, adding that residents believe the elephant population has grown beyond the forest's capacity and that fatal attacks occur in nearby communities every year.
