An elephant was found inside a Tak province wildlife sanctuary chopped into pieces and spread along a back road.
Police are searching for the killers after the body parts were discovered inside the Mae Tuen wildlife sanctuary recently.
The exact date of the incident was unclear, but local Karen residents in a nearby community that raises elephants said no one owned the dead elephant.
Authorities speculate the elephant might have been attacked after entering the village, or was chopped up by its owner who hoped to replace it with another stolen from the wild, Thai PBS reported.
Wild elephants are often taken by mahouts and fraudelently registered as domesticated animals.
Authorities said there are poachers operating in the sanctuary they will continue to seek.
Photo: Thai PBS
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