Elephant kills tourist at national park in Thailand, third fatality linked to the same animal

A wild bull elephant killed a tourist in central Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park on Monday, a park official said, the third fatality linked to the same animal.

The 65-year-old Thai tourist from Lopburi province was out for a morning walk with his wife when he was trampled to death by an elephant named Oyewan, national park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong told AFP.

His wife managed to escape after park rangers scared the animal away, Chaiya said.

“He was the third person killed by Oyewan,” he said, adding that the wild bull elephant could have been responsible for several more deaths that remain unsolved.

Chaiya said authorities will meet on Friday to decide what to do with the elephant.

“We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behavior,” he said, without elaborating.

More than 220 people, including tourists, have been killed by wild elephants since 2012, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Wild elephant numbers in Thailand rose from 334 in 2015 to almost 800 last year, prompting authorities to administer contraceptive vaccines to female animals in an effort to control their ballooning population.

An elephant killed a Spanish tourist while she was bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand in January last year.

Another tourist was killed by an elephant at a national park in Loei province in northern Thailand in December 2024.

There have been deadly elephant attacks in other parts of the world recently. 

Last month, officials in India said a rampaging wild elephant was blamed for killing at least 20 people and injuring 15 others in the forests of Jharkhand.

Last July, two women from the U.K. and New Zealand were killed by an elephant while on a walking safari in Zambia. 

In April 2025, officials in Kenya said a 54-year-old man was killed by an elephant in the central part of the country.

In January last year, a tourist was killed by an elephant in South Africa’s famous Kruger Park.