A bull at Sattahip’s Khao Sheechan elephant camp died after fighting a younger male for a mate.
Sompong, 69, suffered a tusk wound to the abdomen and died April 18. Camp officials cut off its ivory tusks and invited monks to administer religious rite in preparation for the elephant’s funeral.
Camp manager Pajmaporn Sinsukhborirak said the accident occurred after Noi, a 30-year-old bull, broke free from its chain to pursue a female. The older elephant attacked the younger one during the mating, which led to the fight. Noi had been in camp only for a couple of weeks, arriving from Surin to mate.
The camp manager admitted that elephant handlers panicked, leaving the elephants to fight until someone took enough imitative to shoot the elephants with tranquilizers.
