By Marisa Iati
The number of elephants that died trying to save a baby elephant from drowning in a national park in Thailand has risen to 11, officials say.
Thai authorities on Saturday initially said six elephants had died after a roughly three-year-old elephant drowned at Khao Yai National Park, about 135 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.
Two live elephants stuck on the edge of the Haew Narok waterfall.Credit: Department of National Parks
Five other elephants were thought to have jumped into Haew Narok Waterfall to try to save the baby.
A drone has since located another five dead elephants near Haew Narok, the park's highest waterfall, the Associated Press reported.
Officials on Saturday also found two live elephants on the waterfall's cliff, attempting to go down to help the other elephants. A veterinarian is caring for them.
This is the worst such episode for the park's wild elephants in recent memory. A similar disaster killed eight elephants in 1992.
Elephants are sympathetic animals that have been known to help each other when they are distressed.
They also show something resembling grief when one of their own dies.
The discovery on Saturday was prompted by a report of several elephants on a nearby road, Thai officials said.
The Haew Narok Waterfall was closed to visitors after the dead elephants were discovered.
Khao Yai is Thailand's third-largest national park. Haew Narok has three tiers that total about 492 feet. Elephants are common nearby.
The Washington Post