French Man Gouged, Injured By Elephant In Rayong

[george]

French man gouged, injured by elephant in Rayong

RAYONG: -- A French man was severely injured when he was gouged by an elephant after he touched its ivory, police said.

The tourist was injured at 7:30 pm Tuesday at the Star Night Plaza in Rayong's Muang district.

He was gouged on the left side of his body and admitted o the Rayong Hospital.

Maliwan Marnsri, 26, the wife of the French man, told police that her family were feeding the elephant and the wife of the elephant handler warned them not to touch its ivory.

But her husband did not understand the warning and continue to touch one of the ivory and the elephant grab his neck with its trunk and gouged him.

The elephant, its handler and the wife of the handler fled the scene.

-- The Nation 2007-11-07

[taxexile]

the elephant fled the scene !!!

thats got to be a first.

sounds like a nasty accident. i always stay well away from those huge animals when they are brought around , the frustration that must build up in those beasts as they are taken around must be unbearable.

its about time the authorities and the police ........ etc.etc.etc.

[TAWP]

Not much of a handler...

[Stephen Cleary]

French man gouged, injured by elephant in Rayong

The elephant, its handler and the wife of the handler fled the scene.

-- The Nation 2007-11-07

Must have been one heck of a sight - the elephant legging it down the road. Or perhaps the beast escaped on the back of a motorbike!

On a more serious note. When are local law-enforcers finally going to 'enforce' the law and get the elephants off the streets once and for all?

As for the public who hand over cash to these mahouts, let it known that you are only promoting an illegal activity.

Edited November 7, 2007 by Stephen Cleary

[sriracha john]

I feel very sorry for the Frenchman, but geez whiz... the scenario of the elephant fleeing the scene comment requires much biting of the inside cheek to not chuckle.

The Star Night Plaza in Rayong is often a very crowded place at that time.... luckily there were not more injured.

[MrSquigle]

The elephant was seen later that night in the back of a pickup heading for Surin dressed in a sequin dress and sunglasses.

Several people took photos thinking it was Beyonce on tour.

[Etrigan]

Hey this isn't funny so please stop ridiculing this poor man. You all think elephants are these peaceful giants, WRONG!

I was once attacked by one, thank god it was chained securely. My colleague's uncle was killed by one. Ask around and I'm sure you'll hear more stories regarding the true nature of these giant beasts.

Hopefully this will make you think twice before buying sugar cane for it and assuming this act makes the animal your best friend.

[lazeeboy]

The elephant was seen later that night in the back of a pickup heading for Surin dressed in a sequin dress and sunglasses.

Several people took photos thinking it was Beyonce on tour.

do all thai's flee the scene at the first sign of trouble .

[kmart]

The sight of Thailand's national symbol being touted around the streets and beach areas of Rayong makes me pretty sad. I would imagine the elephant isn't in the best of moods either after being marched through the busy streets in the hot sun all day. Hope the French guy recovers okay.

[Briggsy]

Ask any of Thailand's forest rangers which are more dangerous, elephants or tigers and they'll reply elephants every time.

Also, elephants in captivity kill or seriously injure handlers and spectators in Thailand every year. In terms of westerners, there was a Danish woman killed at an elephant show in Pattaya around 3 years ago.

Putting aside the fact, it is immoral to drag elephants around the busy city streets day and night, one has to question the sheer stupidity of taking an elephant with long tusks into a crowded noisy shopping area. (I know, the quick buck defeats any safety concerns every time.)

Am I right in thinking this must have been a male and that males are intrinsically more aggressive?

[Tony Clifton]

The elephant was seen later that night in the back of a pickup heading for Surin dressed in a sequin dress and sunglasses.

Several people took photos thinking it was Beyonce on tour.

do all thai's flee the scene at the first sign of trouble .

Either that or they'll gang up on you.

Personally, I'd prefer facing the elephant one on one.

[Tony121]

Don't touch his ivory ? is that slang or do they mean his tusks ?

[Scott]

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for the injured man.

[John K]

It is a shame that happened but not to blame the elephant or the man. Everyone should stop and think for a moment that any creature that has a brain can have moods both good and bad. For all we know the elephant may have been very upset at the turnout of Tuesdays elections in the states, or the place the man was touching may have been sore from an injury causing the elephant pain, or just being tired and cranky.

[TheEmperorOfTheNorth]

I personally stay the fuc_k away from elephants.

Edited November 7, 2007 by TheEmperorOfTheNorth

[TAWP]

To be honest, I would gore any Frenchman that touched my ivory too, no matter if he gave me money and/or a sugarcane.

[PadThaiGuy]

Feeding Elephants, Petting Tigers, Snake Shows, Alligators Farms...all should be avoided.

[TAWP]

aswell as shaking the rooster, spanking the monkey...

[Tony Clifton]

It is a shame that happened but not to blame the elephant or the man. Everyone should stop and think for a moment that any creature that has a brain can have moods both good and bad. For all we know the elephant may have been very upset at the turnout of Tuesdays elections in the states, or the place the man was touching may have been sore from an injury causing the elephant pain, or just being tired and cranky.

Saw a report a while ago where they showed that some elephants get dangerously moody, especially when they secrete some sort of liquid on both sides of their heads which trickles down to their mouth causing arousal and agressiveness. This may be why this elephant's mood was of some concern to the owner. Even the local motorcycle taxi gang disagrees on having the elephants paraded around these parts with the heat and hot pavement they have to walk on.

[isaanbrit]

French man gouged, injured by elephant in Rayong

The elephant, its handler and the wife of the handler fled the scene.

-- The Nation 2007-11-07

Must have been one heck of a sight - the elephant legging it down the road. Or perhaps the beast escaped on the back of a motorbike!

On a more serious note. When are local law-enforcers finally going to 'enforce' the law and get the elephants off the streets once and for all?

As for the public who hand over cash to these mahouts, let it known that you are only promoting an illegal activity.

Do you have ideas on what to do with and who would take care of the thousands of elephants that would leave unemployed???

Sad as it is, humans have "Employed": elephants for generations and there's nothing else to do with the wonderful creatures.

[meemiathai]

Hey this isn't funny so please stop ridiculing this poor man. You all think elephants are these peaceful giants, WRONG!

I was once attacked by one, thank god it was chained securely. My colleague's uncle was killed by one. Ask around and I'm sure you'll hear more stories regarding the true nature of these giant beasts.

Hopefully this will make you think twice before buying sugar cane for it and assuming this act makes the animal your best friend.

You are right!

And also, You all think human beings are these peaceful animals, WRONG!

I was once attacked by one, thank god he was stopped by the security. My colleague's uncle was killed by one. Ask around and I'm sure you'll hear more stories regarding the true nature of these animals.

Hopefully this will make you think twice before buying drinks for them and assuming this act makes the animal your best friend.

[meemiathai]

Don't touch his ivory ? is that slang or do they mean his tusks ?

I am sure it is just poor translation.

Or is there really such a slang?

[meemiathai]

I personally stay the fuc_k away from elephants.

I personally stay the fuc_k away from any moving objects.

[meemiathai]

To be honest, I would gore any Frenchman that touched my ivory too, no matter if he gave me money and/or a sugarcane.

Racist?

[luumak]

The elephant was thought to been heard murmuring something to the effect of 'him kee-niow'

[meemiathai]

French man gouged, injured by elephant in Rayong

The elephant, its handler and the wife of the handler fled the scene.

-- The Nation 2007-11-07

Must have been one heck of a sight - the elephant legging it down the road. Or perhaps the beast escaped on the back of a motorbike!

On a more serious note. When are local law-enforcers finally going to 'enforce' the law and get the elephants off the streets once and for all?

As for the public who hand over cash to these mahouts, let it known that you are only promoting an illegal activity.

Do you have ideas on what to do with and who would take care of the thousands of elephants that would leave unemployed???

Sad as it is, humans have "Employed": elephants for generations and there's nothing else to do with the wonderful creatures.

They should all be killed and tusks taken as ivories. Does elephant meat taste good?

When are people going to stop walking those elephants on the streets? I want elephant meat!

[trader1]

there was a documentary on Discovery channel last month reporting on a surge in attacks on humans by elephants over the last 10 years or so.. I didn't catch it all.

[Payboy]

my sympathies to the injured - but just cant resist asking whether this would be the first time anyone fled from the french...?

Edited November 7, 2007 by Payboy

[wrestler7902002]

I feel sorry for the Frenchman and hope he recovers soon.....but when I first read the story, I thought that it was probably a joke...but it seems that the incident actually happened.

Quote:

The elephant, its handler and the wife of the handler fled the scene.

Hmmmm...Whenever there is a serious accident with motorbikes, cars, and speeding buses rolling down the mountain that those responsible for such accidents just simply "run away" and do not wait for the police or render help to surviving victims? Why do they do this?

Does this "fleeing" happen only in Thailand or is it commonplace in Asia or other countries?

[seonai]

seems almost pointless to write something here as everyone is being silly but... it's a very difficult subject in Thailand about the elephants being led around the streets for money. I don't know where I stand on it but some pointers are that - many of these elephants used to be employed with their owners in camps that did treking for tourists and have now been laid off because there are not enough tourists so the owner of the camp cannot pay them. There was a severe crisis of this nature in 2002/2003 in the Pattaya area and around when there were over 150 elephants on the streets at night selling bananas.

The elephants and their owners cannot go back to Surin because there is no money to be made there either and an adult elephant eats/needs about 300 kilos of veg/fruit a day - not cheap. In my experience talking to the Mahouts, they don't want to be wandering the streets but have no choice.

Finally, if a male elephant is in 'must' (when the oil runs down their face) it is totally irresponsible of the Mahout to bring it out as they are extremely dangerous at this time.