Korat park digging moat to hem in elephants
Bt3.2 million has been allocated to dig a 10-kilometre moat on the edge of Thap Lan National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima to keep wild elephants from raiding adjacent croplands.
Park chief Prawatsart Chanthep said on Friday the elephants had been a nuisance for farmers for years.
The moat will be dug between the edge of the park’s forest and farmland in Ban Rat tambon, Soeng Sang district, and is expected to be completed by August 26.
It will have at least a 60-degree gradient on the farmland side, too steep for elephants to scale, but less steep on the park side so that any animals that fall in can extract themselves.
Prawatsart asked citizens to help park officials keep the moat in good shape so it doesn’t become shallower due to erosion.
He said his team was meanwhile also trying to find or create additional food sources within the forest and provide safe zones for the wildlife so they have both abundant food and security and will hopefully not roam outside to feed on crops.