Berserk elephant kills mahout, runs away with Chinese tourists on its back

[oneday]

What else is a self-respecting elephant to do, but follow the good example of most Thai drivers who hit and kill people on the roads of Thailand? Of course, he will run away.

[Briggsy]

Uighur elephant. Not Thai elephant.

[AlQaholic]

Thai people should stop pretending they like elephants

Just like westerners should stop pretending they like Horses.

Very unfortunate story, amazing memory of the Elephant, didn't know they could remember like that. Why a mahout would hurt a young Elephant to the degree that it goes crazy many years later on seeing the mahout is just stupid.

[realenglish1]

First let me apologize for my emotions It is sad that someone died by being gored to death

But in tragedy you can find laughter . For some reason I have this mental picture of the Elephant running amok in the jungle

with this Chinese family on its back

From a visual point of view Very funny

[kkup]

Video would of been good.

[LoongJohn]

Dreadful experience for the family.

Perhaps they will have learned from it.

[cumgranosalum]

Rule of thumb - if an establishment offers elephant rides they are exploiting the animals in their care.

[steven100]

Well , I guess they won't be interested in a trip to the tiger temple any time soon.

hmmmm .... I was expecting to read that they were last seen running down the jianjun highway 30klms west of Beijing ....

[steven100]

did they have to pay for the extra ride ?

[monkey4u]

If it's not bad enough that the jet ski operators want to rip you off

Now the elephants want to steal YOU

[cumgranosalum]

THose referred to as "mahouts" aren't...they are not in any way that experienced and yet they are permitted to handle these potentially lethal animals in conditions that in many countries would have the owners fined or imprisoned.

[MockingJay]

Elephant never forgets and then... snaps! Guess the "poor" mahout deserved what he got.

[sabaii69]

I'm surprised there aren't more stories like this. Wild animals should not be kept in captivity. They should be viewed with caution, but in their natural environment. No doubt, this was in the name of conservation. A euphemism for money making exploitation.

I just read a dreadful report on the cruel treatment of elephants from birth on. Payback is a b**ch.

[FolkGuitar]

Chest thumping and soap-box shouting...

It's obvious that we shouldn't be riding elephants. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Just as obvious that there are 'some' elephant handlers who mistreat their charges. "Some." Not all. There are 'some' teachers in our public schools who mistreat their charges too. But it's just as obvious that mankind, in its desire for better housing, better roads, better shopping conditions, etc., etc., have destroyed the elephant's natural habitat. As I said before, the Sanctuaries are great, but they can only handle a few of the thousands of elephants that need to be cared for. We, as humans, decided our needs come before the animals, so we tore down their homes and built ours. We ripped up their routes of travel to better feeding grounds and built our roads to the shopping malls.

Will YOU volunteer to tear down your house so that an elephant family can move in? Will you give up your cars so we can remove our paths to the mall and let the elephants travel those routes again? Will you donate several thousand dollars a year to feed and care for an elephant in a sanctuary?

If not, then all you're doing here is Chest Thumping and Soap-box shouting, and hoping that someone else will solve the problem.

[MyFriend You]

Karma - you gotta love it here. ...................went bezerk after it spotted a mahout who allegedly used to hurt it...............ya know what we says about payback right??? Elephant 1 - Abusive Mahout 0 .

[watso63]

Chest thumping and soap-box shouting...

It's obvious that we shouldn't be riding elephants. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Just as obvious that there are 'some' elephant handlers who mistreat their charges. "Some." Not all. There are 'some' teachers in our public schools who mistreat their charges too. But it's just as obvious that mankind, in its desire for better housing, better roads, better shopping conditions, etc., etc., have destroyed the elephant's natural habitat. As I said before, the Sanctuaries are great, but they can only handle a few of the thousands of elephants that need to be cared for. We, as humans, decided our needs come before the animals, so we tore down their homes and built ours. We ripped up their routes of travel to better feeding grounds and built our roads to the shopping malls.

Will YOU volunteer to tear down your house so that an elephant family can move in? Will you give up your cars so we can remove our paths to the mall and let the elephants travel those routes again? Will you donate several thousand dollars a year to feed and care for an elephant in a sanctuary?

If not, then all you're doing here is Chest Thumping and Soap-box shouting, and hoping that someone else will solve the problem.

Your contributions on this forum mirror my own. Many people will try and shout you down because they cannot debate rationally and become emotionally retarded with their fantasies of how they think a perfect world should be instead of the true reality. It's nice to know of other people that have a grip of themselves?

[springheeled jack]

what an experience for this Chinese family wherever they may be to watch the poor mahout being gored to death then to have the elephant stampede I do hope they are ok RIP to the mahout ,

[3SoiDogNight]

I can relate to this elephant.

After enduring several flights to & from mainland China full of Chinese tour groups, I full understand where this elephant is coming from.

I would have done the same thing if I were an elephant.

[jimstar1]

Sorry about Death But having to put up with Ignorant Chinese in C M I just keep seeing the looks on there face as they where taken for this Ride another day in the life of Thailand land of Laughs

[glasswort]

No one appears to be asking why the elephant went berserk. In pain for some reason? Tired off carrying tourists around? Etc.etc? if yes then the mahout should be better equipped to recognise these things. Mal treatment? Hmmmm.

[springheeled jack]

I am glad the Chinese family were saved they can go back to china and tell all their friends about their experience .

[bkk75]

This is a good news story. Sorry, but exploitation of endangered animals is wrong. The mahout got his just deserts for using his skills in an unethical manner. The Chinese family deserved to be frightened, for engaging in an activity which exploits the endangered animals and funds their further exploitation. I wish this story would just scare away other tourists, so this industry eventually disappears.

I love the TV members who sit behind a screen laminating tourists for this n that. If it was your family I'm sure the tone would change.

Yes it's wrong to exploit wild animals for profit but we don't live in perfect world do we.

I don't see the difference between sexpats or TV members marrying locals half their age. You exploit them they exploit you.

I don't think there aren't much industry where there isn't some kind of expolitation by one class over another.

Getting off my soap box now. Thank you for listening.

[bkk75]

Oh yeah painting all Chinese tourists with a single brush is every TV member's internet given righteousness.

Like there aren't rude tourists from other nations.

[Broeno]

Elephants are a national treasure of Thailand. change the law. only allow them to be well looked after in a park. let people enjoy elephants in their natural habitat and behavior. thus benefiting Thailand and the tourist. everyone happy. also the elephant.

[sawadee1947]

I'm surprised there aren't more stories like this. Wild animals should not be kept in captivity. They should be viewed with caution, but in their natural environment. No doubt, this was in the name of conservation. A euphemism for money making exploitation.

If you want to see elephants then best place is the Elephant Conservation Centre near Lampang, a Royal sponsored project. A magnificent park with expert handlers and vets who do a great job with abandoned and injured elephants.

I have been twice. The second time was to see if the conditions /treatment seen on my first visit, was a one off bad day. It wasn't. I was not impressed in the least. I must admit, they have good P. R. though.

I did view them in their natural habitat in the Tsavo National Park outside Mombasa Kenya. Magnificent experience.

In "real" life Elephants will meet their Mahout when he is young. So the Mahout will stay his whole life with "his" elephant. This you could see in Kenya in some parks. However in Thailand the Mahouts are changing from time to time and so there is not such a close connection between elephant and Mahout. And also the use of sharp hooks is a bad thing which I did not see in Kenya or Uganda. Make elephants agressive only. The result of wrong treatment see above...

[allan michaud]

Dreadful experience for the family.

Dreadful experience for the elephant too (on a daily basis), taken from it's mother, beaten into submission and miss treated on a daily basis. I feel for the family but no sympathy for the mahoot. Won't change a thing TIT.

[rapom]

It amazes me, the number of people that read TV articles, then respond with some of the dumbest questions and ignorant comments. Here we have a person who has died a somewhat horrible death and three people certainly terrified, by their ordeal and then a successful rescue. The man killed was apparently not an intentional target, but the result. If you read the article and have more sympathy for the elephant than for the lives, lost or endangered, pity you.

[ToddinChonburi]

More good news for tourism.

[spectrumisgreen]

This is a good news story. Sorry, but exploitation of endangered animals is wrong. The mahout got his just deserts for using his skills in an unethical manner. The Chinese family deserved to be frightened, for engaging in an activity which exploits the endangered animals and funds their further exploitation. I wish this story would just scare away other tourists, so this industry eventually disappears.

So the guy 'got his just deserts' (lost his life) why again exactly?.. being against the exploitation of all animals, as am I too, is one thing, judging arbitrarily, even arrogantly, that a guy deserves to die, and his family lose a husband, father, son, bread-winner, simply because he's a mahout (who maybe never had any major problems with, or mistreated, an animal before.. we just don't know!) is pretty sick really!!! (Dumb and thoughtless at best).

[Benmart]

This is a good news story. Sorry, but exploitation of endangered animals is wrong. The mahout got his just deserts for using his skills in an unethical manner. The Chinese family deserved to be frightened, for engaging in an activity which exploits the endangered animals and funds their further exploitation. I wish this story would just scare away other tourists, so this industry eventually disappears.

Far from being perfect or knowing all the circumstances, I am not in the position or temperament, to declare who "deserved" what or who "got his just deserts". Someone has died, a family was in danger and an animal is being exploited. That is enough for me to conclude that I only know what I read and leave others to postulate further.