Six elephants die trying to save calf trapped in waterfall in Thailand

The bodies of six elephants were found at the bottom of a waterfall, while two elephants were found on the edge of the waterfall, trying to rescue them

Elephants are sympathetic animals that have been known to help each other when they are distressed

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A dead elephant at the bottom of a waterfall after it fell to its death at Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:09pm, 7 Oct 2019Updated: 10:51am, 8 Oct 2019

Five elephants died while trying to save each other after an elephant calf fell to its death from a waterfall in a Thai national park over the weekend, officials said.

Staff at Khao Yai National Park, about 160km (99 miles) northeast of Bangkok, found the roughly three-year-old baby elephant drowned on Saturday. Five more dead elephants also were discovered at the bottom of Haew Narok Waterfall, according to the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Officials found two live elephants on the waterfall’s cliff, attempting to go down to help the other elephants. A veterinary surgeon is caring for them.

“The two elephants right now are taking a rest. They are exhausted from trying to cross the stream,” said Chanaya Kanchanasaka, a veterinary surgeon at the park.

Soraida Salwala, the founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation, which runs the world’s first elephant hospital, established in 1993, said elephants have sympathy for each other and react instinctively if they see another elephant in danger.