110 pounds of raw rice kills elephant

BANGKOK - A Thai elephant died after eating 110 pounds of raw rice, then drinking 65 gallons of water, a veterinarian said yesterday.

Pang Boonmee, a 27-year-old cow elephant, died Sunday from respiratory failure due to gas that formed as the rice swelled in her stomach, said Alongkron Mahannop, chief veterinarian at Bangkok public zoo.

The rice had been stored on a truck that was transporting the elephant to Bangkok from northeastern Thailand. Her handler had planned to make money by begging with the elephant in the city.

Bangkok authorities are rounding up some 40 elephants working the city's streets and sending them back to the northeastern province of Surin, home to most of Thailand's working elephants.

Thai domesticated elephants have dwindled to around 2,500 from 4,000 a decade ago.