Picture courtesy of Pattaya Mail

 

An elephant wandering near Terminal 21 Pattaya with its mahout caused a stir this week, drawing crowds and prompting immediate action from city officials. The unusual sight of the elephant selling sugarcane attracted curious onlookers but also raised alarms over safety risks to both the animal and the public. Municipal officers swiftly escorted the elephant away, ensuring it was not a danger.

 

Jirawat Sukhonthasap, administrative division director, managed the situation by filing a report and issuing a formal warning to the elephant’s owner. The owner was ordered to remove the elephant from the city, emphasizing the need to prioritize safety and animal welfare. The incident went viral online, showing a mix of fascination and anger, highlighting the swift response by officials and concerns over urban use of elephants.

 

Reactions varied, with many praising the quick action of municipal officers, while others criticized the practice of using elephants in cities. Calls for stricter enforcement of animal welfare laws and harsher penalties were made, reflecting ongoing concerns about the exploitation of elephants for tourism. Animal rights advocates have long argued that urban environments pose risks to elephants and public safety, potentially harming Thailand’s reputation for animal care.

 

Looking forward, city officials acknowledged these issues, indicating that stronger regulations might be considered to prevent future occurrences. The elephant’s owner has been warned and must adhere to municipal regulations, with the possibility of tougher penalties for repeated violations. Officials are focused on ensuring that both public safety and animal welfare are maintained in this incident's aftermath.

 

Key Takeaways

• An elephant wandered near Terminal 21 Pattaya, causing safety concerns.
• City officials acted fast, removing the elephant and warning the owner.
• Stricter regulations may be considered to prevent future incidents.

 

Related Stories

Elephant Causes Panic After Crossing from Cambodia to Buriram

Wild Elephant Rescued from Farm Pond in Chumphon Province

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-09-15

 

 

When I first arrived to Thailand, it was not uncommon to see a small elephant being used as a beast of burden dragging logs on Thepprasit Road in Pattaya. Since then, Thailand has lost over 90% of all elephants due to human expansion.

As a TPV, I remember running after an elephant in downtown Patong after it sat on a parked car...

3 minutes ago, simon43 said:

As a TPV, I remember running after an elephant in downtown Patong after it sat on a parked car...

 

Your car?

Many years ago a good friend of mine told me an elephant ****** his wifes poodle. I replied impossible, how did that happen. He replied that the elephant stood on the poodles head. Excuse the school yard joke.

2 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

Your car?

Luckily no!  I saw the elephant and Thai owner doing a rapid exit down a soi.  Never caught him 🙂

I saw a full grown elephant waking through the Suk-Rama 4 intersection one, 

 

Saw a monitor crossing the road on the Mahidol Salaya campus today.

There used to an elephant around soi 5. The first time  I saw it, was right in front of Gulliver's. Everybody seemed to think it was normal , T.I.T in a good way.. But that was 15 years ago, no more fun today, the sad turning point was the last coup in 2014. 

Thats one clever elephant,selling his sugarcane. Must have been very well trained.

11 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

When I first arrived to Thailand, it was not uncommon to see a small elephant being used as a beast of burden dragging logs on Thepprasit Road in Pattaya. Since then, Thailand has lost over 90% of all elephants due to human expansion.

Poor things got dragged around the beer bars at night, along with BBQ sellers and guys with monkeys and snakes. These days I expect they cause a bit of a traffic back-up, still rather have one of those than a coach of xxxxxxx blocking the roads. 

Used to be very common around the bar soi's in the evenings, great attraction for tourists.

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

An elephant wandering near Terminal 21

I saw several working, drinking with customers in a couple of the Soi 6 bars 

14 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

When I first arrived to Thailand, it was not uncommon to see a small elephant being used as a beast of burden dragging logs on Thepprasit Road in Pattaya. Since then, Thailand has lost over 90% of all elephants due to human expansion.

The tourist camps are full of them

1 hour ago, LennyW said:

Used to be very common around the bar soi's in the evenings, great attraction for tourists.

It's sad they banned them and deter them being helped, elephants live a long time and feeding them is not cheap at all
in 2021 when they could not work my wife was helping feed one, but was reading of so many struggling
it would be nice to get elephants back to work like they used too, give them a purpose, 
and generate the funds to feed them well, since their lands have been taken from them,
much cleaner than using diesel machines

11 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Saw a monitor crossing the road on the Mahidol Salaya campus today.

One ? Have a walk around Lumpini...Hundreds some day.

2 minutes ago, Peter Crow said:

One ? Have a walk around Lumpini...Hundreds some day.

Had one in my garden once, had to call the Sawang Boriboon to get rid, strong and fast when they want to be. 

43 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I saw several working, drinking with customers in a couple of the Soi 6 bars 

Some of those Jumbo's drink like fish

Smell like them too 

21 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

The tourist camps are full of them

Yeah, but those elephants are living in heaven on earth. I don't really like those, I believe the animals should run free, but if you have to live in captivity, it's the best.

I remember them in Bangkok walking along the roads at night. I thought it was clever that they attached red reflectors to their tails for visibility. 

7 minutes ago, damian said:

I remember them in Bangkok walking along the roads at night. I thought it was clever that they attached red reflectors to their tails for visibility. 

 

 

So you didn't think that they were being abused by being taken out of their natural environment?

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

So you didn't think that they were being abused by being taken out of their natural environment?

They likely never lived in their natural environment.

 

It is my understanding that most animals, like most humans, would rather be taken care of than to run wild. 

 

7 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

So you didn't think that they were being abused by being taken out of their natural environment?

Yes I did actually and never fed them. But that was not the subject of my post. 

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

They likely never lived in their natural environment.

 

It is my understanding that most animals, like most humans, would rather be taken care of than to run wild. 

 

 

 

Your understanding (certainly of "taken care of") is wrong.

1 minute ago, damian said:

Yes I did actually and never fed them. But that was not the subject of my post. 

 

 

No, but I like to develop intelligent discussion beyond the main purpose of posts.

11 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Your understanding (certainly of "taken care of") is wrong.

I had a good friend (RIP Steve) that was an Elephant trainer and whose wife (RIP Irish) had a live pony ride. They loved the animals, and the animals loved (such as they can) them.

 

Animals do tricks and work and whatnot because they want to. 

On 9/15/2025 at 9:10 PM, Yellowtail said:

I had a good friend (RIP Steve) that was an Elephant trainer and whose wife (RIP Irish) had a live pony ride. They loved the animals, and the animals loved (such as they can) them.

 

Animals do tricks and work and whatnot because they want to. 

 

 

Absolute <deleted> !

 

 

I am sure those elephants ran around when they were calves shouting "Mummy, please get those humans to teach me how to paint, throw darts and play football"....

On 9/15/2025 at 9:13 PM, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Absolute <deleted> !

 

 

I am sure those elephants ran around when they were calves shouting "Mummy, please get those humans to teach me how to paint, throw darts and play football"....

If they could talk, they would not be painting and throwing darts. 

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I saw several working, drinking with customers in a couple of the Soi 6 bars 

 

Sure they weren't baboons or did you check to see if they had big trunks

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Picture courtesy of Pattaya Mail

 

An elephant wandering near Terminal 21 Pattaya with its mahout caused a stir this week, drawing crowds and prompting immediate action from city officials. The unusual sight of the elephant selling sugarcane attracted curious onlookers but also raised alarms over safety risks to both the animal and the public. Municipal officers swiftly escorted the elephant away, ensuring it was not a danger.

 

Jirawat Sukhonthasap, administrative division director, managed the situation by filing a report and issuing a formal warning to the elephant’s owner. The owner was ordered to remove the elephant from the city, emphasizing the need to prioritize safety and animal welfare. The incident went viral online, showing a mix of fascination and anger, highlighting the swift response by officials and concerns over urban use of elephants.

 

Reactions varied, with many praising the quick action of municipal officers, while others criticized the practice of using elephants in cities. Calls for stricter enforcement of animal welfare laws and harsher penalties were made, reflecting ongoing concerns about the exploitation of elephants for tourism. Animal rights advocates have long argued that urban environments pose risks to elephants and public safety, potentially harming Thailand’s reputation for animal care.

 

Looking forward, city officials acknowledged these issues, indicating that stronger regulations might be considered to prevent future occurrences. The elephant’s owner has been warned and must adhere to municipal regulations, with the possibility of tougher penalties for repeated violations. Officials are focused on ensuring that both public safety and animal welfare are maintained in this incident's aftermath.

 

Key Takeaways

• An elephant wandered near Terminal 21 Pattaya, causing safety concerns.
• City officials acted fast, removing the elephant and warning the owner.
• Stricter regulations may be considered to prevent future incidents.

 

Related Stories

Elephant Causes Panic After Crossing from Cambodia to Buriram

Wild Elephant Rescued from Farm Pond in Chumphon Province

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-09-15

 

 

How come they can quickly manage 1 elephant but can't manage lady boys?  

 

13 hours ago, simon43 said:

Luckily no!  I saw the elephant and Thai owner doing a rapid exit down a soi.  Never caught him 🙂

 

Reminds me of The Two Ronnies:

"An escaped elephant was caught doing a ton on the M1. Police have advised drivers to approach with caution and treat it as a roundabout."