The Khao Yai National Park office is working to locate an army corporal who appeared in a viral video approaching and attempting to touch an elephant while holding a knife in one hand.
Fortunately, the 10-year-old elephant, Plai Pupa, simply stepped back, made a warning sound and retreated. The encounter, which occurred on April 29th, was filmed and posted on the Facebook page “Where is the Elephant.”
Chaiya Huayhongtong, chief of the park, said he has ordered an investigation into the incident, which took place near the Khao Kheow salt lick, and has instructed officials to locate the man, who will face legal action.
An initial investigation revealed that the man entered the park without a ticket at 9am. He was later brought back and made to pay a 40 baht entry fee and 30 baht for his motorcycle.
He was seen approaching the elephant at around 3pm. Reports say that, after the encounter, the man backed away and left on his motorcycle, yelling at officials not to follow him.
Chaiya said park officials searched for the man last night and reinforced checkpoint monitoring to prevent him from re-entering the park.
He violated the National Park Act by bringing a weapon into the park and disobeying park officials' orders, the chief said.
Chaiya added that the man has been blacklisted from the park, as his behaviour poses a danger to both wildlife and people.
“I was informed that the man in question is an army corporal, stationed in Nakhon Ratchasima province, who has a history of mental illness,” he said.
The man is lucky, as Plai Pupa is known to be aggressive. On this occasion, however, the elephant was in a calm mood and chose to walk away.
