Plai Boonsaen, a beloved male elephant, died peacefully at age 61 years old earlier this morning.
He was a teak logging elephant born in 1964 and last worked logging teak in Petchaboon Province before being sold into the tourism trade when teak logging was banned. He worked at a tourist attraction in Surat Thani for many years before an animal activist monk, Kru Aod, collected 350,000 baht from his followers to purchase him and relocate him up north. He lead a peaceful life over the past few years at the elephant conservation centre in Lampang.
