Thai Elephant Tramples Man, Runs Off With Tourists

[cavanami]

Thai elephant tramples man, runs off with tourists

 

http://news.yahoo.com/thai-elephant-tramples-man-runs-off-tourists-150709458.html

 

n elephant trampled its handler to death and ran off with two Russian tourists — a mother and her 9-year-old daughter — who were riding it during a trek in southern Thailand, police said Monday.

 

Rescue teams tracked down the elephant about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away and tranquilized it to rescue the tourists clinging to its back, police Lt. Col. Narong Laksanawimol said.

 

"It took almost three hours for the elephant to calm down completely. We had to tie it to a tree," Narong said by telephone.

 

He said the animal began attacking the 60-year-old handler about 15 minutes after the start of what was supposed to be a scenic ride for the tourists near a waterfall in the city of Phang Nga. The handler's crushed body was found in a creek.

 

He said the male elephant had never attacked anyone since it began working for a tourist company two years ago, adding that the animal was in musth, a state of aggressive sexual excitement.

[Flashermac]

And just what did they expect with an elephant in musth. Remember the tourist killed by one in Pattaya a few years ago? Elephants in musth are supposed to be kept in isolation.

[StoneSoup]

Ah - but the controllers need to earn baht without interruption - so minor issues like hormone-driven rampage cycles cannot be allowed to interrupt the cash flow stream.

 

SS

[jitagawn]

Supportive anecdotal evidence of a very dangerous tourist destination...again.