KANCHANABURI: A male elephant found dead in Si Sawat district on Saturday was believed to have been electrocuted by a low-hanging power line, authorities said.
Paitoon Intarabut, chief of the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, said staff of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand found the elephant dead on the road to a radar station in tambon Tha Kradan at about 1.30pm.
Sanctuary officials who went to the scene found the elephant, believed to be 15-20 years old, lying dead on the road with burns on its trunk and left front and rear feet.
The elephant might have been walking on the ground a few metres above the road and using its trunk to feed on bamboo, Mr Paitoon said.
Some bamboo branches might have been touching a low-hanging power line and it was possible that the elephant was electrocuted and fell onto the road, he said.
Confirmation of the cause of death awaits an autopsy by veterinarians from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and the Livestock and Wildlife Hospital in Kanchanaburi.
Established in 1965, Salakpra was Thailand's first wildlife sanctuary and is home to an estimated 130-150 elephants.