Elephant Trekking Disaster In Koh Samui - Thailand News And Articles

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Elephant Trekking Disaster In Koh Samui

Scottish Tourist Dies When He Rides An Elephant


Thailand-Safari-Elephant-Rides


A Scottish man on holiday in Thailand died due to unforeseen circumstances whilst he took a ride on an elephant. The trekking took place in Koh Samui one of Thailand's most popular tourist islands.

The man had been riding the elephant with his 16 year old daughter as part of an elephant safari through the jungle.

According to news sources the elephant suddenly got very angry and started shaking. There were three people riding this one elephant at the time of the incident. The elephant got really angry and threw the tourists and trainer off its back.

Unfortunately the father was trampled on whilst on the ground. The elephant proceeded to attack the man with it's huge elephant tusks.

Daughter Survives Elephant Rides


His daughter had minor injuries after being thrown off the back of the animal and is currently recovering in hospital.

The father and daughter were on an Elephant Safari in Samui organised by 'Island Safari Tour'. The governor of Samui told national news that:

Police are now investigating the [elephant] trekking operator, Island Safari Tour, which is legally registered to offer elephant trek rides. Police have yet to charge anyone.'
The British Embassy is offering support to the family of the man that died, sadly, whilst riding the elephant.

Koh Samui has a lot of elephant camps for a small island - they have 6 in total with around 63 elephants.

Elephants During Mush


There are certain periods of times when elephants really shouldn't be used for rides or trekking. This period is called 'mush' and its a time when the elephant has a lot of testosterone and have significantly violent behavior. Prevention methods for mush is to usually keep the elephant in a peaceful environment so that it can relax.

But this one faced a lot of pressure after it was still being used for trekking, so now the question is; could this fateful event of been prevented?

Elephant Trekking In Thailand and Asia


Elephants are popular tourist attractions especially in South East Asia. Tourists flock to go and ride the elephants. Countries like Thailand and Bali have a lot of safari's on offer for the visitors.

Expertvagabond Blog suggests that because wild Elephants cannot be rode on when they are wild, that when the elephants are babies they are trained to have people riding on their backs. But brutally trained, they are taken away from their mothers and put into a hole.

The baby elephants are then beaten into submission with clubs, pierced with sharp bull-hooks, and simultaneously starved and deprived of sleep for many days. writes Expertvagond.com
Before you decide to ride an Elephant anywhere, then just remember what could happen to you. And remember what these poor animals are being put through for your enjoyment. There are about 2000 elephants in Thailand, and all over the world, everyday, the numbers are getting lower and lower. The more the need, the more the torture. 

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