A private elephant park has demanded wildlife authorities return 18 seized elephants after one of them died after being transported to a state-run elephant hospital in Lampang province.
Sri Thong, a female elephant, died at the National Elephant Institute on Tuesday _ less than a month after being confiscated from Saiyok Elephant Park in Kanchanaburi's Sai Yok district.
Veterinarians are investigating the cause of the death.
Sri Thong was one of 19 elephants confiscated from the elephant park on Feb 29. The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department officials suspected the park operator illegally obtained the pachyderms as information on the elephants' identification cards did not match their characteristics.
Duanpen Sandee, the daughter of Saiyok Elephant Park's owner, said the death of the elephant showed that the institution failed to provide healthy living conditions for them.
"The elephants look thin and under pressure," she said after visiting the elephant institute in Lampang yesterday. "The department should return the remaining 18 elephants to us, otherwise more of them could die."
Ms Duanpen said she would submit a petition to department chief Damrong Pidech, asking him return the elephants to Kanchanaburi.
She said the park planned to ask the court to order the department to return the elephants, and that it was also preparing to take legal action against authorities about the death case.
Wildlife conservationist Roger Lohanan, secretary-general of the Thai Animal Guardians Association, expressed concern over the department's decision to move the confiscated elephants from Kanchanaburi to Lampang province, saying that the long distance and unfamiliar environment could be harmful to the animals' health.
He said the elephants should be kept at the park during the department's investigations.
Mr Damrong yesterday said he could not return the elephants to the park as the case was still in court.
Regarding the dead elephant, Mr Damrong said authorities were conducting an autopsy to find the cause of death.
