According to the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (DNP), there are between 3,500 and 4,000 wild elephants roaming the forests of Thailand and the number is expected to increase due to conservation efforts.
While this demonstrates that wild elephant conservation efforts have been successful, many people, especially those who live in villages on the edge of protected areas, view it as a worrying development.
HUMAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT
As the pachyderm population in protected areas increases, some of the sanctuaries have only limited food and water resources. Elephants are forced to venture into surrounding villages and croplands in search of food.
Consequently, human-elephant conflict (HEC) is inevitably becoming more frequent.
There have been several reports in recent years of wild elephants encroaching on farmland near the forest, destroying crops and sometimes hurting people and damaging property.
In many cases, elephants have been injured or even killed by electric fences and vehicles as they tried to expand their territory.
One case that received the most attention from the general public occurred in Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary in Chachoengsao province when an elephant was seriously injured after being hit by a pickup truck on the 20-kilometre section of Highway 3259 that cuts through the sanctuary.
deadly road: Highway 3259 cuts through Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary.
The government had proposed in 2015 to permanently close this controversial route to reduce loss of wildlife, but the authorities balked at closing it, citing the inconvenience it would cause motorists, and decided instead to close off the section through the forest between 9pm and 5am daily.
Decha Nilwichien, chief of Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary, revealed that nearly 14,000 wild animals die per year on this highway and the route is also used frequently by elephants to roam.
Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary is one of seven protected areas in Thailand that harbour more than 100 wild elephants. It is also the location of some of the country's worst HEC.
The sanctuary covers an area of 67,400 rai (10,784 hectares) of lowland rainforest across five eastern provinces -- Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Sa Kaeo.
According to the DNP, the elephant population in Khao Ang Rue Nai a decade ago was estimated at 217 and the crude elephant density was 0.2 animals per square kilometre.
However, the wild elephant population has been expanding at a rate of 9.83% per year in recent years.
The sanctuary now has at least 275 elephants and the elephant birth rate of 20 per year now far exceeds the death rate.
It is expected that the elephants will overflow the forest in the next 10 years due to the rising population, the shrinking sources of food in forest and the temptation of farmland crops.
CROP RAIDING
A study conducted in 2010 by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSA) found that the average number of crop-raiding incidents in villages near Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary was about 25 per month.
Households in the area had to spend an average of 212 nights per year guarding crops. The average crop area damaged by elephants was approximately six rai per household per year or 0.96 hectare per household per year.
The average cost of damage due to elephants was 34,825 baht per household per year, which accounted for 19% of average household income.
Suphan Nanam, a villager at Ban Ang Suea Dam in Chachoengsao's Tha Takiap district, said he quit farming and became a freelance worker after he lost 1,500 banana trees to the elephants two years ago.
Suphan Nanam
Huay Jaidee
"It's pointless growing crops you cannot harvest. The elephants took everything in the blink of an eye. Firecrackers only frighten them away for a while and then they come back, so it was better to quit farming rather than risking my life fighting with them," he said.
Suphan, who has lived in Ban Ang Suea Dam for over 40 years, said in the past crop raids only happened once in a while, but in recent years the incidents have become a lot more frequent.
"The overpopulation of wild elephants might be the main reason for them coming to find food in the villages," he said.
Huay Jaidee, a rice farmer in Khlong Takrao subdistrict, said she has to stay up overnight during harvest season to watch over her crops otherwise the elephants would destroy her paddy field.
Huay, whose house is located on the 20-km section of Highway 3259 that cuts through the sanctuary, said she now also raises crickets at home as a secondary job to ensure that she will have some income in case her crops are damaged by elephants.
"The best place to sell crickets is to a market in Sa Kaeo. But I have to drive through the sanctuary to get there, so I would be in double trouble as the government plans to permanently close the road soon," she said.
Although local people and government agencies have put in place mitigation measures such as a ditch to clearly define the border between people and elephants, it's only been successful to a degree and hasn't stopped all elephants.
"Elephants are intelligent creatures. They have learned over a period of time how to overcome the barriers we have put up for them," she said.
A couple weeks ago, a herd of elephants also broke into Ban Ang Suea Dam School at night to eat bamboo.
Kanchana Dit-aim, a teacher, said she is worried that one day the elephants may break into school in the daytime while the pupils are studying.
"The school has prepared firecrackers to use against elephants as well as set up an emergency plan to evacuate students to safe areas if the animals invade," she said.
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Kanjana Nitaya, the DNP's Wildlife Conservation Office director, said the department has acknowledged the growing conflict between the people around the forest and the wild elephants and the department has been working to solve this conflict for quite a while.
"We have seen some farmers take severe measures to stop elephant encroachment, such as constructing electric fences or shooting at the elephants, which can kill them. This is not a good solution and we are trying to foster a good understanding among the people and work with them in more constructive ways," Kanjana said.
Dispersing them with firecrackers would scare the elephants and they could then possibly harm the villagers, she added.
One preliminary solution involves DNP officers working with local volunteers to monitor wild elephants, warn about encroachment and chase the elephants back into the forest.
The DNP has also developed a more effective way of containing the elephants and stopping them from damaging crops by installing beehive fences. When the elephants approach the fence, the bees chase them away without causing any harm to the animals.
The department also plans to grow food for elephants in the forest.
However, in order to turn human-elephant conflict into human-elephant harmony, people must understand the animals' nature and learn to live with them.
"We are also encroaching into forest, making it harder for the elephants, which already face limited food sources. Therefore, it is our task not to invade their homes," she said.
The country's forests are heavily fragmented following development and the expansion of human settlement, she said. Continuing encroachment has reduced the chances of connecting those fragmented forests together.
Komsan Chartputhorn
Komsan Chartputhorn, an officer at Khao Ang Rue Nai wildlife sanctuary, said human behaviour can be a pull factor for crop-raiding elephants. For example, the elephants did not eat papaya in the past but papaya vendors threw overripe papayas on the road as food for wild elephants. The wild elephants have learned to eat the papayas and now raid the papaya crop.
Giving food to wild elephants demonstrates humans can change the consumption behaviour of elephants, he added. Therefore, education on not feeding wild animals is needed.
According to EEPSA research, improving the elephants' habitat, providing female elephants with contraception and using electric fences to keep elephants away from farmland could be medium-term solutions to mitigate HEC.
It also finds that, in the long term, elephant relocation may be necessary in some areas.
Kanjana said in the long run, wildlife corridors, which can help connect fragmented forests, will be needed to be set in place to contain the elephants in their natural habitat.
At present, the DNP and other wildlife experts have proposed HEC resolution as part of the reform plan for natural resources and the environment. The plan is still under consideration by the government and it is expected to be implemented soon.
Under the plan, critical animals would be listed in terms of urgency. Their habitats would be improved, with new food and water sources.
warning: A sign warns 'Beware of wild elephants' at the entrance of Ban Ang Suea Dam village. PHOTOS: Apichart Jinakul
lucky escape: Walls damaged by wild elephants at Ban Ang Suea Dam School.
limited traffic: Motorists are only allowed to use the 20-kilometre section of Highway 3259 between 9pm and 5am daily.