Terrifying Moment! Parents and Children Inches from Death Under Elephant’s Belly

[Dexxter]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The footage shows an elephant handler leading children under the elephant's belly – a cultural tradition believed to bring luck and safety.

 

The phrases "leading children under the elephant's belly" and "bring luck and safety" do not seem to belong together.

I suppose they were "lucky" to have survived the ritual.

[Kalasin Jo]

I like elephants but it's best to be very wary. Ritual or belief, this is still a crazy thing to do.

[roo860]

2 hours ago, zepplin said:

Thais will exploit any animal for money regardless of the risks, fact!

100% mate!!!

[Artisi]

5 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Sadly, that is not the dumbest thing that I have seen.

My late wife loved elephants and anything to do with them. 🐘

She adopted some in Kenya.

I had to travel to Sri Lanka regularly and she would always accompany me.

Elephants.

We were travelling around the country one day and she saw an elephant sanctuary - stop here!

The handlers asked my wife if she wanted a massage - by an elephant.

NO! I said. YES she said and she lay on the floor.

Elephant walked up to her and rubbed her stomach with its foot.

That was it thank God.

We had quite a long discussion after that one.

Luckily it was only a foot and belly, could have been trunk and (censored) 

[stoutfella]

There's a few "Darwin Award" contenders.

[MikeandDow]

5 minutes ago, stoutfella said:

There's a few "Darwin Award" contenders.

Totally agree, mind you there is a lot of competition from Thais for this award

[SiSePuede419]

Attention Farangs!

 

Just because Thais do stupid stuff doesn't mean you should copy them.

 

I can assure you, elephants don't bring you luck.

 

Mu wife's mother came from a rich family in Laos.  They had an elephant.

 

America specially a Mass Murderer Jew named "Henry Kissinger" thought it would be a good idea to drop bombs on them to "fight communism".

 

They had to flee in the middle of the night across the border to Thailand to save their lives.

 

Lost everything.

 

How lucky could that elephant been?

 

THINK. 😃

[Tarteso]

Idiots

[LukKrueng]

Wow, it worked! It did bring them good fortune. They walked under an elephant and are still alive to tell their story....

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

A ridiculous thong to do but this elephant is not a wild elephant, it is domesticated.

 

Semantics - but if you wish to go down that rabbit hole...

 

Elephants can never truly be domesticated, they can only ever be tamed. They are closer to wild animals than to fully domesticated species.

 

Domestication vs. Taming:

Domestication refers to a process where humans selectively breed animals over generations to develop traits that make them more suited for human use or coexistence. This has not happened with elephants.

Taming, on the other hand, is the process of training individual wild animals to interact safely with humans. Domesticated elephants are usually wild elephants (often Asian elephants) that have been captured or bred in captivity and trained for human purposes, like logging, tourism, or religious ceremonies.

[ade591]

7 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Sadly, that is not the dumbest thing that I have seen.

My late wife loved elephants and anything to do with them. 🐘

She adopted some in Kenya.

I had to travel to Sri Lanka regularly and she would always accompany me.

Elephants.

We were travelling around the country one day and she saw an elephant sanctuary - stop here!

The handlers asked my wife if she wanted a massage - by an elephant.

NO! I said. YES she said and she lay on the floor.

Elephant walked up to her and rubbed her stomach with its foot.

That was it thank God.

We had quite a long discussion after that one.

I worked in Sri Lanka in the 1990's and visited a few Perahera's. I could never understand this ritual of running under the elephants with kids. They must be intimidated enough with all the drum beats, drapes of bright lights and high pitched horns. I would never think of running under an elephant with my kids! 

[BusyB]

Quite apart from the ridiculousness of this superstition, (does this elephant's behavior portend that the unfortunate child will now be dogged by bad luck in life?) what the hell is an elephant doing at the side of a road like that anyway? It can only have been extremely nervous.

 

This is no better than the now banned practice of getting KS Road backpackers to feed abused elephants bread rolls and bananas.

[Phillip9]

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

5 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

A ridiculous thong to do but this elephant is not a wild elephant, it is domesticated.

I’ll go with what an expert has to say.

 

The elephant is being ridden and controlled by a human.  Isn't that is the exact definition of domesticated?

 

 

[BusyB]

2 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Attention Farangs!

 

Just because Thais do stupid stuff doesn't mean you should copy them.

 

I can assure you, elephants don't bring you luck.

 

Mu wife's mother came from a rich family in Laos.  They had an elephant.

 

America specially a Mass Murderer Jew named "Henry Kissinger" thought it would be a good idea to drop bombs on them to "fight communism".

 

They had to flee in the middle of the night across the border to Thailand to save their lives.

 

Lost everything.

 

How lucky could that elephant been?

 

THINK. 😃

 

I agree with the general sentiment. However I can't understand what Kissinger's being a Jew has to do with his perpetration of mass murder. Recalling specifically his Christmas present of bombing Hanoi. His Nobel Peace Price was worthless.

 

However, he was the United States of America Secretary of State as I recall. Representing and acting on behalf of the US, not Jewry.

 

[MikeandDow]

48 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

The elephant is being ridden and controlled by a human.  Isn't that is the exact definition of domesticated?

 

 

The answer is No   that is Taming,  "there is a diffrence being domesticated and taming"  Taming is the conditioned behavioral modification of a wild-born animal when its natural avoidance of humans is reduced and it accepts the presence of humans, but domestication is the permanent genetic modification of a bred lineage that leads to an inherited predisposition toward humans.

as already been posted

 

[Airalee]

49 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

The elephant is being ridden and controlled by a human.  Isn't that is the exact definition of domesticated?

 

 

I guess…as much as this is.

 

 

[biggles45]

Nong Nooch has 3 shows a day where tourist interact with the elephants. Picked up by the trunk and the elephant runs, lay down and the elephant steps over them and picked up in a cradle of two elephants trunks. 

Never read about a bad incident in all my years here. 

[Phillip9]

23 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

The answer is No   that is Taming,  "there is a diffrence being domesticated and taming"  Taming is the conditioned behavioral modification of a wild-born animal when its natural avoidance of humans is reduced and it accepts the presence of humans, but domestication is the permanent genetic modification of a bred lineage that leads to an inherited predisposition toward humans.

 

I think I'll stick with the dictionary definition, and not a definition one guy made up.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dont confuse me]

Regardless of who is to blame, I'm sure the mahouts insurance will cover any necessary medical bills and perhaps a little compensation as a sign of good will. 

[CLUBBER]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy: Daily News via Facebook " Pom Aum Mobile "

 

In a nerve-wracking incident, parents taking children through an elephant's legs as part of a ritual for good fortune narrowly avoided tragedy when the elephant became agitated and unpredictable.

 

The incident, captured by CCTV and later posted on Facebook by user "Pom Aummobile", aims to serve as a cautionary tale. The footage shows an elephant handler leading children under the elephant's belly – a cultural tradition believed to bring luck and safety.

 

Picture courtesy: Daily News via Facebook " Pom Aum Mobile "

 

However, the situation took a dangerous turn as the elephant unexpectedly panicked. The handler carrying the first child was viciously kicked, narrowly escaping being trampled.

 

The Facebook post, dated 6th January, emphasised the need for awareness around such practices: "This is not to disrespect beliefs, but to show how a belief nearly cost lives. Watch this close-call moment where a child's life was at risk. The elephant kicked with such force, it was a terrifying split-second!"

 

Following the video’s release, social media users overwhelmingly expressed concern over the dangers associated with this practice.

 

Many noted the irresponsibility of subjecting children to such risks, pointing out that instead of bringing safety and fortune, the ritual could lead to disaster. Fortunately, the on-elephant handler managed to calm the animal just in time, preventing any fatalities.

 

 

-- 2025-01-06

 

 

Just absolute stupidity !

[wavodavo]

17 hours ago, kwaussie said:

The mother sure rolled out of the way pretty quick, should be one lesson she will never forget.

I think she would be too stupid to take a lesson from that. Any parent that pays someone for the privilidge of putting their child at risk obviously has cottonwool for brains.

[Udom]

17 hours ago, Phillip9 said:

 

The elephant is being ridden and controlled by a human.  Isn't that is the exact definition of domesticated?

 

 

You obviously didn’t read the comments nor you have any ideas of what “domesticated” means. But hey, anybody has the right to speak although, the vast majority abuses this right…

[Udom]

Just now, Udom said:

You obviously didn’t read the previous comments nor you have any ideas of what “domesticated” means. But hey, anybody has the right to speak although, the vast majority abuses this right…

 

[Udom]

17 hours ago, biggles45 said:

Nong Nooch has 3 shows a day where tourist interact with the elephants. Picked up by the trunk and the elephant runs, lay down and the elephant steps over them and picked up in a cradle of two elephants trunks. 

Never read about a bad incident in all my years here. 

So what? 

[Udom]

16 hours ago, Phillip9 said:

 

I think I'll stick with the dictionary definition, and not a definition one guy made up.

 

 

 

 

 

You cannot understand the difference even when you read it. Worthless trying to explain it to you…

[MikeandDow]

17 hours ago, biggles45 said:

Nong Nooch has 3 shows a day where tourist interact with the elephants. Picked up by the trunk and the elephant runs, lay down and the elephant steps over them and picked up in a cradle of two elephants trunks. 

Never read about a bad incident in all my years here. 

You need to read World Animal Protection in regard to how thailand treats elephants in Thailand

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/latest/blogs/thailand-elephants/

[HOOD Robin]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:33 AM, Tropicalevo said:

Sadly, that is not the dumbest thing that I have seen.

My late wife loved elephants and anything to do with them. 🐘

She adopted some in Kenya.

I had to travel to Sri Lanka regularly and she would always accompany me.

Elephants.

We were travelling around the country one day and she saw an elephant sanctuary - stop here!

The handlers asked my wife if she wanted a massage - by an elephant.

NO! I said. YES she said and she lay on the floor.

Elephant walked up to her and rubbed her stomach with its foot.

That was it thank God.

We had quite a long discussion after that one.

 

I did the same 25 years ago in Nong Nooch Garden in Pattaya.
We were young(er) and stupid !!! When I now see people doing the same I shake my head and tell myself "There was a time you also were such a fool"  🙃 😉

[MikeandDow]

The Thai people should be ashamed  how they treat Elephants

World Animal Protection

Assessed 3837 elephants in 357 venues across Asia and found that 63% were living in severely inadequate conditions. When not performing, they were restrained by short chains in noisy, dirty conditions, had poor diets, and received very limited medical care.

Training elephants to perform tricks and activities for tourists is both unnatural and harmful. ‘Trainers’ use cruel, punishment-based training, including hitting them with sticks or sharp metal objects.

Elephants are often kept in isolation. Elephants are very social, so separating young elephants from their mothers causes severe trauma, especially when they are then restrained with chains to exhaust them while they become used to being isolated. This can lead to symptoms of PTSD.

Elephants used for tourism in Thailand fuels the cruelty we’ve just mentioned. Companies train elephants to fulfil the demand for elephant experiences and close encounters with these wild animals. 

Elephant tourism also makes elephants a valuable commodity. Elephant breeders can charge large sums for each calf. This is a form of wildlife farming, where these wild animals are seen solely in terms of profit with no thought for their wellbeing.

Although the welfare of these elephants is our primary concern, captive elephant experiences also pose a significant danger to humans. More people are killed or severely injured by captive elephants than any other captive wild animal.

Currently, one person is killed on average for each male elephant being held in captivity. As well as these direct killings, close contact with captive elephants can pass dangerous diseases such as tuberculosis to tourists and handlers.

[lamyai3]

On 1/6/2025 at 12:17 PM, SportRider said:

Love the way the rider is on his phone... what a combination of old and new. 

 

He was making a trunk call.