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A campsite at a popular national park in Thailand was closed after a tourist died in an elephant attack on Feb. 2
The same wild bull elephant has killed at least three people, according to reports
Following the accident, rangers are patrolling the region during the dry season
A campsite in Thailand’s first national park has been closed after the same elephant killed a third person.
This week, the Khlong Pla Kang campsite in Khao Yai National Park, located at the edge of the Northeastern Plateau, was closed after a tourist died in an elephant attack on Monday, Feb. 2, the Pattaya Mail and the Bangkok Post reported. Anupong Suksomnit, the governor of Nakhon Ratchasima province, ordered the site closed, the Bangkok Post reported.
On Monday, Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn, a man in his 60s, was walking near his tent in the national park with his wife when he was fatally attacked by a wild bull elephant, the Agence France-Presse, the Bangkok Post and Khaosod English previously reported. The man’s wife escaped after rangers scared the animal away, national park official Chaiya Huayhongthong told the AFP.
Jiraphatboonyathorn is the third reported victim to be killed by the same bull elephant, according to the reports, though Huayhongthong told AFP that the animal could have killed more people.
The Khao Yai National Park and the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Industrial Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
The closure is part of a larger effort by officials to protect communities and tourism sites from wild elephants, according to the Pattaya Mail and the Bangkok Post.
Yosawat Thiansawat, an official from nearby Prachin Buri province, told the Bangkok Post that the dry season prompts wild elephants to encroach on such areas to eat. He urged people to travel in groups and quietly leave the area if they see the animals.
Officials have increased the number of rangers patrolling tourist attractions and national parks in the province, according to the outlets.
MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty
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In the meantime, authorities are still determining what to do with the bull elephant responsible for the attack.
“We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behaviour,” Huayhongthong told the AFP.
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