A heartbroken baby elephant was found guarding her dead mother’s body after she ate poisonous crops in Thailand.

The 11-month-old jumbo Park Mae Mae escaped her enclosure with her mother Moke Chue, 31, and wandered into a plantation to feed on the corn in Tak province on April 22.

However, her mother unknowingly ate crops that were heavily-sprayed with pesticides and fertilisers, which are believed to have poisoned the adult jumbo.

The orphaned Park Mae Mae was discovered by villagers on April 23, around 12 hours after her mother died, refusing to leave the elephant’s corpse. Footage shows the confused baby elephant beside her collapsed mother.

Elephant Conservation Foundation chairman Sangduean Chailert said: ‘We have sent a team to start an inquiry in the village.

’The baby and another adult elephant who was found with them were taken to a facility to be monitored in case they ate some of the poisonous corn too.’

Pak Mae Mae and her mother used to live in an elephant camp catering to tourists, but due to Covid-19, their mahout had to return home with them as it had lost income.

Their mahout reportedly let the elephants roam around the village at the daytime but they escaped that night and wandered into the corn farm.

The dead elephant’s body was taken for an autopsy while the mahout’s elephants were taken to the facility.

Elephants are the national animal of Thailand. An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild and a similar number in captivity. They are protected by laws and killing them carries a maximum prison term of up to three years and a fine of 1,000 baht (25GBP).