He carried on by saying that city dwellers visiting the park were always amazed to see elephants walking alongside roads. He said drivers needed to be extra careful not to get too near to, or drive too fast, when passing the pachyderms as this could spook them.
He added that when elephants got upset they might attack. He noted that people stopping to take photos also blocked the park’s narrow throughways and this caused holdups for other road users. As a codicil he stated that visitors should not stop to feed the elephants either.
Park staff say that over 17,000 people a day visited Khao Yai over the New Year holidays. Officials donned traditional clothing and waved down motorists to ask them to be careful as they were driving around the park during the holidays.
A photo supplied by Khaoyai News shows what can happen when an elephant is not having a good day or is upset by something. The south side of Khao Yai is accessible from Nakhon Nayok and Prachin Buri. 12GO ASIA sells bus tickets from Bangkok to both towns.
Khao Yai Park asks visitors to stay away from wild elephants
News in Asia
The chief ranger at Thailand’s most popular national park has asked visitors to refrain from taking snapshots of wild elephants. Kanchit Srinoppawan says that although elephants roam freely through Khao Yai National Park they can get annoyed when people get too close and start taking photographs.