An elephant trampled a tourist to death in front of his wife at a Thai campsite in the third killing linked to the same rogue animal.

The 65-year-old Thai tourist, identified locally as Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn, had been taking a morning stroll with his wife in central Thailand‘s Khao Yai National Park when he was killed by the wild bull elephant named Phlai Oyewan.

At around 5.30am on Monday, the male elephant rushed toward the man, grabbed him with his trunk, slammed him to the ground, and stamped on him.

Mr Jiraphatboonyathorn died instantly as his wife and other campers watched on in shock from their tents. 

His wife, however, managed to flee the scene after Khao Yai park rangers scared the giant animal away, national park chief Chaiya Huayhongthong, said. 

When rescue workers and medics arrived on site, they examined the victim, who had suffered serious injuries, including multiple broken limbs. 

A park ranger told the Bangkok Post that the male elephant had been ‘in a rut’ at the time of the attack and had previously killed two residents. 

‘He was the third person killed by Oyewan,’ Huayhongthong told reporters, adding that the wild bull elephant is responsible for several more deaths that remain unsolved.  

At around 5.30am on Monday, the male elephant rushed toward the man, grabbed him with his trunk, slammed him to the ground, and stamped on him

A park ranger told Bangkok Post that the male elephant, named Phlai Oyewan, had been in a rut at the time of the attack and had previously killed two residents

Huayhongthong said authorities will meet on Friday to decide what to do with the killer elephant.

‘We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behaviour,’ he said, without elaborating.  

More than 220 people, including tourists, have been killed by wild elephants since 2012, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Wild elephant numbers in Thailand rose from 334 in 2015 to almost 800 last year, prompting authorities to administer contraceptive vaccines to female animals in an effort to control their ballooning population.

An elephant killed a Spanish tourist while she was bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand in January last year.

Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, from Valladolid, was bathing an elephant at the Koh Yao sanctuary on the Thai island of Yao Yai when the animal suddenly caused her the fatal blow with its trunk.

Garcia, a Law and International Relations student, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she later died.

Bathing elephants is a popular tourist activity in the Southeast Asian country. 

Elephants are rarely aggressive but can act out if they feel threatened, or to protect their young. 

Another tourist was killed by an elephant at a national park in Loei province in northern Thailand in December 2024.