Two Baby Elephants Found Dead From Suspected Pesticide Poisoning

Recently, we have seen many cases where animals, especially elephants, were being cruelly mistreated by human beings. Earlier this week, the internet was horrified and saddened to see a baby elephant collapsing in exhaustion while being forced to walk around as a tourist attraction – but this latest case showcases one of the more insidious ways we humans affect the animals that share this world with us.

In a post on Facebook, Thailand Animal Rights Alliance reported that a mother elephant was heard crying for her calves in the Chachoengsao province in Bangkok, Thailand. The community of people there decided to search around the area and discovered two dead young elephants in the wetlands.

Source: facebook

The first body was found on the evening of 28th May and the second on 29th May. Both baby elephants were about a year old and are believed to have died around the same time.

It was a horrifying sight to see as the lifeless baby elephant corpses were found surrounded by strong pesticides, which has raised questions on if the animals had been poisoned.

Source: facebook

This is because the tall, wild grasses surrounding the dead bodies were bleached and dead from the pesticides that are rarely used by farmers. The animal group has urged for investigations to be conducted on the matter as the real cause of their deaths have yet to be determined.

Source: facebook

National parks veterinarians conducted an autopsy on the first baby elephant and found a bullet inside its body, but they do not believe that to be the cause of its death. They said that the pesticides were made out of carbamates, which is a highly toxic nerve agent to mammals. 

They also added that the position in which the second baby elephant died revealed it suffered a painful death. 

Source: facebook

Source: facebook

The Thailand Animal Rights Alliance has since urged the authorities to work openly to protect these elephants and investigate their deaths after concerns were raised about the other 10 elephants in the herd.

This is so heartbreaking! Elephants are such magnificent creatures; they don’t deserve to be treated this way – no animal does. Let’s hope all this will end as the authorities get to the bottom of this. 

Also read: Baby Elephant Collapses from Exhaustion After Being Forced to Walk With Mom for Tourists