World’s elephant attack capital in Thailand where jumbos rampage through streets & crush locals… & tourists are to blame

RAMPAGING elephants are leaving a trail of terror in Thailand amid a worrying surge in fatal attacks in the country.

The beasts have been running riot on roads, storming into tourist areas and even breaking into homes as they plague the elephant attack capital of the world – with tourists to blame, experts told The Sun.

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Elephants have been terrorising Thailand over the last few years including squashing cars, blocking roads and even fatal attacks[/caption]

VIRAL PRESS

The moment an elephant named Cherry fatally whacked a human after years of giving out rides before stomping the tourist to death[/caption]

ViralPress

Over 50 elephants completely blocked a highway leaving cops and locals stumped on how to get past the huge barricade[/caption]

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A tourist was sent flying through the air after getting on an elephant’s bad side in Thailand[/caption]

A report in February claimed at least 150 people in Thailand were killed due to wild elephant related attacks since 2018.

More than 133 were also injured, according to Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Many of these were tourists in the southern part of the country.

The number of horror incidents in the south have only increased overtime – and coincide with Thailand seeing a huge increase in wild elephant issues.

As well as brutal attacks on humans, they have been seen blocking up entire roads in their mammoth herds, squashing cars and springing towards defenceless tourists before swiping at them.

In one of the most jaw-dropping ordeals, 50 of the huge animals decided to saunter across a highway in Chachoengsao – leaving humans forced to watch on and wait.

But for one motorist the terror became a little too close to comfort when a seven-tonne bull elephant sat down on his car.

The 34-year-old, known as Duea, wagged his tail before lying his front legs completely across a dwarfed car in Khao Yai National Park.

A young couple were later left in disbelief when their dinner was interrupted by a big brute forcing his head through a kitchen wall.

Provinces like Nakhon Ratchasima, Phang Nga and Hua Hin are all seeing increases in the number of human and elephant conflicts, according to local reports.

Incidents have become so frequent and terrifying that locals have started to arm themselves with ping-pong “bombs” to scare away the beasts.

One of the reasons for the rise in attacks is thought to be related to the number of them being forced into captivity, Humane Society International told The Sun.

In Thailand, there are more animals working in tourism and logging industries than left in the wild.

Hundreds are also trapped in zoos and circus-style environments.

An estimated 3,000 of the giant beasts are domesticated across the country – and just 2,200 are allowed to freely roam in the wild.

Elephants are stripped from their normal habitats and forced to live in small enclosures covered in ropes and chains by their new handlers.

They are then made to dance, gallop and even carry tourists on their backs.

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Supachai Wongtin’s body was found ripped apart after the elephant turned on him[/caption]

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Another elephant in Thailand decimating a car[/caption]

A chained up elephant trapped under a human’s control

A temple worker was stomped to death by a wild elephant in Thailand

This industry is seen as fuelling the elephant handlers’ ambition to keep on allowing rides to happen so they can keep lining their own pockets.

The practice of elephant rides have been slammed by animal rights groups for years with many labelling it as a form of torture.

Animal rights group PETA say elephants working in captivity “have been torn from their jungle homes to be sold like equipment”.

The group say they are “forced to haul illegal logs or entertain tourists”.

Adam Peyman, director of wildlife programs at Humane Society International, called on tourists to understand they are doing more harm than good.

He said: “When people get injured or killed by elephants, of course it’s a human tragedy but it’s important to understand the underlying abuse, exploitation or cruel treatment that the elephants have often endured that have led up to that unfortunate event.

Peyman said elephants forced into captivity and babies ripped away from their herd can “exhibit aggression out of frustration and fear”.

Humane Society International found aggressive elephant cases come from elephants forced to perform for tourists.

“That can result in injury or worse to themselves, other elephants and of course people,” Peyman said.

“It is the abusive industry in which they are held captive that is ultimately to blame, not the elephants.

“Tourists have a key role to play in stopping that by refusing to participate in such cruel activities.”

Peyman also noted the rise in wild elephant attacks and again laid the blame on greedy humans.

“Where wild elephants exhibit aggression, the wider context to that can often be that their natural habitat has been reduced through human activity creating competition for land and resources such as elephants eating a farmer’s crops,” he said.

“This in turn can spark violent retaliations such as throwing firecrackers or stones at a herd, that can lead to elephants learning to be fearful and defensive towards humans.”

Sumanth Bindumadhav Director of Wildlife Protection for Humane Society International based in Asia agreed, saying “elephant habitats and corridors are shrinking rapidly”.

This is therefore increasing the number of meetings between man and beast in which “a proportion can be negative”.

TOURIST ‘TORTURE’

For decades, humans have been riding on elephants for their own enjoyment with it even being advertised as a tourist treat.

But, shocking pictures have shown the devastating impact it can cause for the animal and just how brutal it can be.

Elephant Pai Lin spent more than 25 years in Thailand’s trekking industry, being forced to give rides for up to six tourists at a time.

The result on Pai’s body has been disastrous with her spine now visibly deformed.

Payman gave a clear message to tourists saying they should stop lining the pockets of those handlers exploiting the elephants.

He said: “Tourists should never ride an elephant in any situation, no matter what their handler may tell them. Elephants won’t naturally wish to have a human ride on their back.

“They do so after being ‘broken’ using violent methods to which they eventually submit, and the life of an elephant used for rides is a miserable one involving being tethered and controlled.

“The best place to see elephants is where they belong, in the wild.”

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The terrifying moment a family found a wild elephant smashing through their home[/caption]

Moving Animals

‘Dumbo’ the baby elephant died after the animal was ‘forced to rave’ and perform for tourists at a Thailand zoo[/caption]

Jam Press/WFFT/Amy Jones

Pai Lin as a young, fit and healthy elephant[/caption]

Jam Press/WFFT/Amy Jones

The same elephant but after 25 years of carrying humans on her back and deforming her spine[/caption]

A baby elephant, thought to be just aged one, was seen collapsing from exhaustion after being chained up to his mum as she gave rides to tourists.

The calf had a rope around its neck before rolling around on the hot floor.

The elephant exploits aren’t just limited to rides – even five-star resorts in the country have been slammed by animal activists for using elephants as entertainment.

Guests at Mövenpick Bangtao Beach in Phuket were able to pet a baby calf who they had dressed up in a white outfit at a pool party.

Some labelled it as “gross mistreatment” as others said the baby was being “controlled by fear” after getting ripped away from its mother.

THE BRUTAL CRUSH

In Thailand, elephants are often seen performing for paying humans by dancing and prancing around a dusty clearing.

One way elephant handlers achieve this is through a device called the crush.

The medieval torture-style device is used to make elephants submissive enough to act on command and take tourists on rides.

Peyman said: “Elephants will be forced to train, often using negative control methods such as beating and chaining.”

Sickening footage shows elephants being hooked up to the device by ropes and bull-hooks stabbed into their heads.

A device called the crush is often used in Thai elephant attractions to make the animals submissive

The elephants subjected to the torture style trap can sometimes even be babies

ViralPress

Pom Pam became irritated when he was forced to carry heavy logs in sweltering heat as he swiped out at his owner[/caption]

Often the chains and ropes used can stress the animal, leading to potentially fatal accidents.

PETA have found that Thai elephants are often kept on short chains and repeatedly stabbed and beaten into submission.

The group studied elephants at various zoos and found many had bloodied wounds on them.

Zookeepers were also filmed allegedly jabbing them with short, sharp spikes to make them perform tricks or give rides to tourists.

Unable to socialise with each other, isolated elephants are suffering from psychological distress, say PETA.

FATAL THAI ATTACKS

Back in 2022, a raging elephant ripped its handler’s body in half with its formidable tusks after being forced to haul wood in a heatwave.

Supachai Wongtin, 32, was killed by a 20-year-old male named Pom Pam after he became irritated carrying heavy logs through the jungle.

The elephant had been working for four days straight when he gored the caretaker in Phang Nga province in Thailand.

Police found the man’s body torn apart as pictures show his arms and legs detached from his torso.

Other terrifying videos show elephants swiping at their human handlers and sending them flying through the air.

One tragic incident saw Rachan Theerapittayatrakul suffering multiple fractures after being whacked by a female elephant’s trunk.

She was then trampled to death by the 28-year-old wild animal named Cherry.

Cherry was tied up to a tree when she lashed out at a human after years of being forced to carry tourists on her back.

Taan Wannagul, a researcher at the Eastern Elephants Education Centre, told the Telegraph: “They grab you, they slap you to a tree, sometimes they make sure you’re dead by stepping on you or using their tusks.

“They can play with bodies like it’s a doll.”

A temple worker was also trampled to death by a wild elephant while taking a stroll at a temple in Hua Hin, Thailand earlier this year.

Prasit Kanchanasilanon, 58, was found lying face-down in a pool of blood in front of the monks’ living quarters, according to the Bangkok Post.

Not only are the humans suffering from the fed-up beasts but so are the elephants as over 92 were killed in the same period.

A young elephant, called Dumbo, died after its back legs snapped when it was forced to perform for tourists at a zoo.

Moving Animals

More than half of all elephants in Thailand are held against their will, domesticated and chained up[/caption]

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A Thai resort was slammed after they dressed up a baby elephant and made it entertain tourists[/caption]

Some are even tied up by their feet

Jam Press/WFFT/Amy Jones

Experts believe the main reason elephants are getting more aggressive is due to the tourist industry using them against their will until they break[/caption]