Baby elephant being smuggled, parks chief says

A local politician, a businessman and local authorities were behind the failed attempt to smuggle a young female elephant, says the national parks chief.

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Damrong Pidech, chief of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, yesterday paid a visit to a five-year-old elephant that was confiscated from a group of Karen poachers on Tuesday. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

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Politician 'involved in elephant case'

Parks chief Damrong probes smuggling bid

Apinya Wipatayotin

RATCHABURI : A local politician, a businessman and local authorities were behind the failed attempt to smuggle a young female elephant from Pachi River Wildlife Sanctuary in the province, says the national parks chief.

Damrong Pidech, chief of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, yesterday paid a visit to the five-year-old elephant that was confiscated from a group of Karen poachers on Tuesday.

The Karen were allegedly taking the young elephant to be sold to an elephant farm when rangers found them in the forest. The patrol team exchanged gunfire with the poachers. One Karenni was killed.

Mr Damrong said a politician in Kanchanaburi and a wealthy businessman in Saraburi had worked closely with officials in Ratchaburi province to smuggle the young jumbo, but to no avail.

He also said an ethnic Karen police officer is a key coordinator for the ring. The policeman "received an order for young elephants from farms and arrange for a poaching team to go catch them", he said.

"The jumbo must have been tamed for about one year. The trainer must be Karen, because the elephant understands the Karen language," Mr Damrong said.

Elephant farms usually ask for young elephants aged no more than three to five years because they are cute and easy to train.

He declined to name those he thought were involved in the smuggling attempt.

However, he has asked the Livestock Development Department to help check elephant identification details at jumbo farms in Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Kanchanaburi provinces as the number of baby elephants in the farms has been growing suspiciously.

Mr Damrong said the young elephant must have come from Kaeng Krachan National Park as the Karenni killed during the clash with the forest patrol lived in a village in the park.

Pol Col Chartchai Suasaming, chief of Suan Phueng Police Station, is in charge of the case. He said the police officer to whom Mr Damrong referred was transferred to another district years ago after he was found to have a record of engaging in an illegal wildlife business.

Sutthiwat Ploychum, chief of the forest protection unit of Nong Ta Dung in Pachi River Wildlife Sanctuary, and who was present during the clash with the poachers, said attempts had been made to smuggle the elephant before.

Three attempts had been made to remove the young elephant from the forest. However, strong patrol coverage forced the Karen to delay smuggling the young jumbo.

The young elephant was given the new name of Pachi and is in good health. It appears tame and is friendly with people. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

Elephant hunters usually take the animals along the creek from Kaeng Krachan National Park to Pachi River Wildlife Sanctuary to avoid checkpoints manned by forestry officials.

The poachers then take the elephants to tambon Suan Phung in Ratchaburi before loading them onto a truck.

The young elephant was given the new name of Pachi and is in good health. It appears tame and is friendly with people. Pachi is expected to be sent to the state elephant farm in Lampang province.

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation – an agency of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand) กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติ สัตว์ป่า และพันธุ์พืช
confiscate – to take away ยึด
poacher – a person who illegally catches or kills an animal, bird, or fish on someone else’s property ผู้รุกล้ำ, ผู้บุกรุกล่าสัตว์หรือจับปลา
involved – taking part or having a role in something เกี่ยวข้อง
probe – to investigate; to attempt to find out the truth about something; to examine ตรวจสอบ
smuggling – secretly and illegally taking goods or people into or out of a country ลักลอบขนสินค้าหรือคนหรือสัตว์เข้าและออกจากประเทศอย่างผิดกฎหมาย
bid – an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
local – in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about  ท้องถิ่น
authorities – people who have the power to make decisions or enforce the law เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
wildlife – animals, birds, insects, etc. that are wild and live in a natural environment สัตว์ป่า
sanctuary – a place where birds or animals can live and be protected, especially from hunters or dangerous conditions เขตสงวนพันธุ์สัตว์ป่า
allegedly – claimed to have done something wrong, but not yet proven ที่กล่าวหา
ranger – a person whose job is to take care of a park, a forest or an area of countryside เจ้าหน้าที่ดูแลป่าหรืออุทยาน
patrol – a group of people or vehicles that move around a place in order to prevent trouble or crime  หน่วยลาดตระเวน
wealthy – having a large amount of money, land, and other valuable things   ที่มั่งคั่ง ร่ำรวย
jumbo – an elephant (the adjective jumbo means very large)
to no avail – without success อย่างไร้ผล
ethnic– of a group of people with the same culture or traditions กลุ่มชาติพันธุ์
key – very important ที่สำคัญ
coordinator – someone whose job is to organise the various parts of an activity and make sure that all the people involved work well together (used to identify Surasai Katasila, PAD coordinator)  ผู้ประสานงาน
ring – a group of people involved in an activity, especially an illegal one กลุ่มคณะ
tame – not wild or fierce, either naturally or because of training or long involvement with humans; to cause to be tame  เชื่อง (สัตว์), ทำให้เชื่อง
cute – pretty and attractive น่ารัก
decline – to say politely that you will not accept something or do something ปฏิเสธ
livestock – animals such as cows, sheep, chickens and pigs that are kept on farms ปศุสัตว์
identification – the process of showing, proving or recognising who or what somebody/something is การแสดงตัว
details – small facts or pieces of information relating to a situation รายละเอียด
suspiciously – in a way that makes you believe that something is wrong, dangerous or illegal อย่างน่าสงสัย
clash – a brief fight between two or more people การปะทะกันสองฝ่าย
in charge of – to be in control of an activity and to check that everything is being done correctly  ดูแล ควบคุม
case – a matter that is being officially investigated, especially by the police คดี
transferred – changed someone’s job or responsibilities โยกย้ายตำแหน่ง
engage in – to take part in a particular activity เกี่ยวข้อง มีส่วนร่วม
illegal – against the law ผิดกฎหมาย, นอกกฎหมาย
delay – to make something happen at a later time than originally planned or expected เลื่อน
creek – a narrow stream; a very small river  ลำธาร โกรกธารเล็กๆ
avoid – to try to prevent something from happening หลีกเลี่ยง
checkpoint – a place where people are stopped and questioned and vehicles are examined, especially at a border between two countries ด่านตรวจ
man – to be responsible for working at a particular place or operate a particular piece of equipment ประจำที่
state – government รัฐบาล