Huge herd of wild elephants pillage Buri Ram plantations

More than 60 wild elephants have been seen foraging for food near the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in Buri Ram.

BURI RAM: A large herd of more than 60 wild elephants has been recorded on video clips by officials of the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in this lower northeastern province.

Officials said the video clips show the pachyderms foraging for food in a grass field near Khao Kapod forest protection unit in the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, east of Ban Khok Phet in tambon Lam Nang Rong of Non Din Daeng district.

Villagers in the area have also taken pictures and videos of the elephants eating tapioca in their plantations and trampling a chicken pen.

Officials from the wildlife sanctuary have been put on regular patrol to watch for the marauding jumbos and shoo them back into the forest.

Tambon and village chiefs in the area have been asked to warn villagers to stay away from the forest for the time being to prevent possible injury. They have also been instructed to report any fresh sightings of the wild animals to the authorities.