A wild elephant died after being electrocuted on an illegal high-voltage fence in Thailand.

The 15-year-old male jumbo was searching for food but unknowingly tried to enter private grounds on the edge of Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in Chanthaburi province on April 21.

However, his body was caught on a 220volt electric fence installed by the owner around his 12.8-hectare plantation.

The jumbo shrieked in pain as a high-voltage current passed through his body, alerting wildlife sanctuary volunteers but they were too late when they found the elephant as it was already dead when they arrived.

Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary chief said: ‘We are still investigating the elephant’s real cause of death and we will also be collecting more evidence.’

Local Pong Nam Ron District officials as well as the police station launched an investigation on the incident and confirmed that a 220volt fence surround the private garden where the animal died. The owner had already been questioned about the incident.

The young elephant's body has already been delivered to Khao Taong Forest Protection Unit for vets to perform an autopsy.

Elephants are the national animal of Thailand. An estimated 2,000 elephants are living in the wild and a similar number in captivity.

In the wild, they roam through the deep jungle and in the country’s protected national parks but often encounter humans on roads and in villages. However, 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).