White elephant calf spotted in Thai national park

BANGKOK, April 23 (TNA) - A white elephant calf has reportedly been spotted in the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Petchaburi province in the Upper Thai South, prompting park rangers and soldiers to have seriously guarded the national park to protect the white calf. Over 60 soldiers from the Thap Phraya Sua ad hoc unit and rangers of the Kaeng Krachan National Park and from the Khao Laem National Park in nearby Kanchanaburi province have been deployed to protect the Kaeng Krachan National Park at Baan Pa Daeng of the Pa Deng locality of Kaeng Krachan district, where the white elephant calf was reportedly discovered recently. The soldiers and rangers have set up checkpoints and conducted patrols to screen out hunters and to also prohibit tourists from traveling deep into the park in order to prevent the white calf from moving farther into deep jungles. Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn, chief of the Kaeng Krachan National Park, has ordered subordinates to protect the vicinity of the Karang 3 reservoir, where the white elephant calf was photographed, and has instructed two layers of patrols for the efficient protection of the herd of the white elephant calf. Meanwhile, Manopat Huamuangkaew, Director-General of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and his deputy, Theerapat Prayurasiddhi, visited the Pa Deng locality on Tuesday afternoon to handle the issue with officials of the Bureau of the Royal Household who will check the attributes of the spotted elephant calf. In Thailand, white elephants are considered the symbol of prosperity and power and are traditionally presented to the monarch. (TNA)