A great hornbill shot in the head at a national park in Koh Chang, Trat, 10 days ago has died.
Phadet Siridamrong, director of Nuern Plub Warn Animal Hospital, said the five-year-old female bird's condition deteriorated at about 10pm on Thursday. It stopped breathing and was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
The bird had been transferred to the specialist hospital in Chon Buri last Sunday, three days after it was found wounded by a tourist at Khiriphet waterfall in Mu Koh Chang National Park.
Mr Phadet said veterinarians did all they could, including using acupuncture and laser treatment, but the bird succumbed to the severe wound.
Two suspects have been reportedly summoned by policemen for questioning, one of them the son of a local politician, but Pol Lt Col Banjerd Krajarngsaeng, of Koh Chang police, is reported to have said officers don't have enough evidence to press charges.
The penalty for hunting protected species is a prison sentence of 3-15 years and/or a fine of 300,000-1.5 million baht.