5 elephants die after falling into sinkhole in Kanchanaburi

In the latest tragedy for Thailand’s wildlife, 5 wild elephants were found dead in a national park in the western province of Kanchanaburi on Thursday. Even though they were just found this week, the elephants were estimated to have been dead for over 2 months after they fell into a natural sinkhole.

The chief of Lam Khlong Ngu National Park found out about the dead elephants from photos on a Facebook page, which showed the elephants’ bodies sinking into the soil pit. The chief alerted other officials of the post, and they showed up to investigate the elephants’ deaths. After a preliminary investigation, the officials determined that the sinkhole was caused by a soil collapse, which might have been caused by underground mining nearby.

Two of the elephants were adults, 1 was a teenager, and 2 were calves. Officials were unable to identify if the elephants were male or female.

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