One autopsy revealed that a 10-year-old male gaur, which weighed about one tonne, had a bullet wound to its chest that pierced its lungs and windpipe. The bullet was not found.
The team speculated that the animal had not died instantly and ran into the woods, dying where its carcass was found.
Villagers of Ban Khao Phaeng Ma in Wang Nam Khieo recently alerted authorities that they had found two large gaurs dead in the forest near Khao Phaeng Ma wildlife sanctuary.
The second gaur, a female weighing about 500 kilograms, was butchered and its head was removedใ
. Officials and police are hunting for poachers or farmers who might have killed the animals to protect their crops. Three wild gaurs have been found killed in the area in the past week.