Gaur carcass found in Wang Nam Khieo

800kg male believed to have been shot to death

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: The carcass of a male gaur, believed to have been shot to death, was found on Thursday near a village in Wang Nam Khieo district.

Local residents found the carcass in the bush near Khlong Sai at Moo 8 village in tambon Wang Nam Khieo, about 300 metres from Khao Yai National Park and 2km from the Khao Phaeng Ma forest, said Annop Buanual, chief of the Khao Phaeng Ma Non-hunting Area.

The dead gaur was a male, about 12 years of age, and weighed about 800 kilogrammes, he said.

Pol Col Rungroj Tang-amnat, the Wang Nam Khieo police chief, said the animal had been dead for at least four days. Seven bullets were found embedded in the body.

The protected animal might have been shot and wounded elsewhere, probably by villagers seeking to scare it away from intruding into their farms, before it was found dead near the village, he said.

An investigation is under way. Those found to have shot the gaur to death would be liable to a jail term of up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to 1 million baht under the Wildlife Protection Act, he added.