Young Sun Bear Caught Raiding Chickens in Prachuap Khiri Khan
A young sun bear has raided a Prachuap Khiri Khan chicken coop three nights running, killing ten birds total, and officials suspect it may be an escaped or released pet based on its unusually calm behavior around humans and lights.
For the third consecutive night, a young sun bear ignored bait traps and instead slipped into a chicken coop to kill and eat fresh birds on the property of an elderly resident in Saphane subdistrict, Nadi district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The animal first struck on September 7, killing seven chickens, then returned on September 8 to kill three more. At around 3 a.m. on September 9, when the homeowner shone a flashlight and spotted the bear eating a chicken, she shouted and the animal jumped the fence and fled into a nearby banana grove.
Bunyluean Saenokhot, head of Management Zone 9 of Khao Yai National Park, revealed that officials got a clear view of the intruder and confirmed it is a young sun bear, not a dog, weighing around 20–25 kilograms. Remarkably, wild bear mothers typically do not abandon their young, yet no mother's tracks were found. The bear also displays strange behavior—remaining calm when struck by flashlight or barked at by dogs, and climbing fences without panic—suggesting it may be an escaped or deliberately released pet.
Earlier, park officials had set a large trap behind the chicken coop and baited it with fresh chicken carcasses, instant noodles, and ripe bananas, but the bear ignored the trap entirely, preferring to sneak in from the side during rain and darkness to catch live birds. At 4:30 p.m., officials and community leaders repositioned the trap directly in front of the chicken coop entrance, placing a live chicken as bait near the homeowner's bedroom window. A veterinary team stands ready with a tranquilizer gun to sedate the animal if caught, after which it will be health-checked and released into Khao Yai National Park.
