Elephant's Tusks Cut After Fatal Tourist Attack: Ayutthaya

[Yme]

Land of barbarians who don't have the mental capacity or humanitarianism necessary to be supervising WILDLIFE

[cup-O-coffee]

So if the tusks had been 20 cm shorter at the time of the attack, the victim would have survived??

Again it has been proven, that those beautiful and intelligent animals, should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment !

did you read the whole article ,, if you did ,you will find it has nothing to do with that they do that to " free the spirit of the victim "

So comforting to know that the people in charge of these multi-ton animals with huge tusks believe in this mumbo-jumbo.

Yet another person who cannot accept or at least try to respect and understand another's culture. Ignorance reigns supreme !

And when we apply this mentality to the rest of the world, you say what?

And you are telling (telling) us that we are compelled to respect (or try) and understand another's culture, or else we are ignorant?

How about asking the poaster if he has already tried and made an already formulated and educated decision, hence arriving at the original point of his post? Maybe you are a day late and a dollar short?

This is possible, is it not, for I agree with his or her post. It's mumbo jumbo.

Respect.

[wilcopops]

Was the animal in musth?

Is this a good summary? - the owners failed to look after the elephant correctly resulting in the death of a member of the public who will receive some paltry compensatory brush-off and the owners will make a packet as they can legally sell the tusks on the Thai ivory market.

[wilcopops]

those who think that using the word "culture" is some for of get-out clause for incompetence, stupidity, or animal cruelty just don't seem to realise how pathetically naive their arguments are.

we all can learn about other "culture" but respect is something you earn.

[Animal68]

So every day I wake up and the same thing. Eat a little, drink a little, and get taken out to work. All day long I have to be extremely nice and let people prod me, feel me, jump on me, and basically do whatever they want. Sometimes I get these really unhealthy treats given to me by people. While normally I would eat healthy food, I can't I live in captivity and must succumb to whatever they give me. Some of the food I get is good early in the day. However by later in the afternoon it is not so good. The food sits in a box in the sub. People come by and give these pieces of paper to the controller of the food and take it out and give it to the other people who give it to me. Sometimes it is really untasty late in the day since it has been there in the sun for a while. I don't get much to eat, so I must eat this stuff even after they have handled it. Do you know where their hands have been? I do, they were just rubbing my belly. Right before they came by I was sitting on the ground, the dirty ground and these people just felt me up and touched my food. Worse yet, I know where the persons hands have been that controll the food. I also know I bathe more than he does.

So anyway, there I was sound asleep in my dirty cramped den they make me live in. I was having this nice dream of running around in the fields. Then my dream turned bad and I was captured. I was tortured and stuck into a den. I actually have this dream often and usually wake up in a fit when I do. So this time the dream takes a twist. Sitting in the den in my dream two people enter and they are from the group that captured me, this time I know they are here to cut off my tusks and put me to death. I see behind them a pile of my brothers and sisters with no tusks, all of them are dead. One of them comes near me and feeds me something. I realize it is spoiled food and dirty and the other one starts laughing.

Suddenly I wake up and there are two figures near me and I think it is not a dream. I get up to run and stumble, accidentally hurting these people.

A few days later they cut off my tusks and I see the person who did it getting a huge stack of paper afterward. I am so happy to be alive as my dream did not come true. I hope the two people are OK who woke me up, I normally don't frighten too easily, but I also don't wake up to strange people invading my home at night.

[JetsetBkk]

So every day I ....

<snip>

Actually, there is no "I" or "me". These are non-sentient animals called elephants.

[wilcopops]

So every day I ....

<snip>

Actually, there is no "I" or "me". These are non-sentient animals called elephants.

Just goes to show that even some posters are hard pushed to qualify as "sentient" - why don't you look it up before you post such nonsense

[wilcopops]

BTW - Elephants are not domesticated animals

[HarryMilton]

I found nothing in the Thai press about the incident. The press here self-censor and considering this elephant's status, journalists would be reluctant to print any story without an official press release. So this is it, the press release. Tusks cut, all sorted now, move on please, nothing to see here. Very Thai style, love it or hate it.

You're right, The Nation isn't part of the Thai press.

[Animal68]

Sorry, I don't have any locks on the door of my den. In fact I don't have any doors at all. I just thought since I respect others dwellings they would respect mine.

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to Bangkok Post has been removed:

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[JetsetBkk]

So every day I ....

<snip>

Actually, there is no "I" or "me". These are non-sentient animals called elephants.

Just goes to show that even some posters are hard pushed to qualify as "sentient" - why don't you look it up before you post such nonsense

I did. That's why I posted my comment. But there are always blogs and other non-scientific websites that try to convince you the opposite.

[belg]

the crushing power of this 2000-4000 kilogram beast is forgotten ?

oh, the spirit is released, so everything is ok, right?

thainess?

the animal killed a person, put it to sleep... let the policmen do some target practise

[ginjag]

the crushing power of this 2000-4000 kilogram beast is forgotten ?

oh, the spirit is released, so everything is ok, right?

thainess?

the animal killed a person, put it to sleep... let the policmen do some target practise

The Elephant needs to be sent to an inactive post---The forest--freedom. Who gave you the super brainwave to come up with TARGET PRACTICE.

[lsal]

Oh - you all make me so sad. Whilst I do feel for the poor husband who is now grieving the loss of his wife - a senseless tragedy to be sure, born of an unfortunate fatal misjudgement.

What some people have not understood is this was a working elephant village, these animals were not 'stolen' from the wild or captured and put in captivity - they are domestic elephants that have lived and worked with their mahouts from day 1. A lot of these elephants used to be employed by logging companies - and since that is now illegal they were put out of work. Where they are living and working is a place that has been working towards providing sustainable work for these animals so they are NOT reduced to begging or performing on the streets.

Where the incident occurred was in their village - the elephants home - there is no way those tourists should have been there at that time - the people that were injured walked into that home, at night,did not seek to ask anyone who lived there if that was ok and unfortunately made the decision to approach a bull elephant. like a person, if a stranger just approaches you in your home and grabs at you, if you are startled, or your personal space is invaded - you would react. only you are not a 3 tonne elephant. Even mahouts have to eat, sleep, see family of an evening - they cannot be at the elephant's side 24/7. The tusk cutting has nothing to do with the incident that occurred as a form of 'punishment' in fact tusks are routinely trimmed and maintained. The Ivory is NOT sold (and has now become illegal in thailand) it remains in the Spirit House. Maybe get your information in order before you start cursing the people who have cared, loved and respected this animal for its whole life and will continue to do so even if the elephant now has no way of supporting its own care financially. they do not question if 'it is worth it' - an elephant is for life - consider keeping a dangerous horse or dog that costs over $200 a day to feed in a country where you would not earn that in a week and see if you would hang on to it. It is a tragic incident make no mistake - but the only problem was 2 people made a poor decision.

[Getyourfactsright]

Finally a comment that has some sense and maturity! Its easy to read a news article and judge, are we all really that stupid that we believe ever thing that is written. Of course the news paper wouldnt embelish a story to sell it or elaborate on the truth to capture interest. Yes yes its all strictly FACT!..... give me a break!

Before you all judge the people who give thier lives to sustain a vastly waining Asian elephant population stop and think. For those who said put them back in the jungle..... great idea?! erm why dont you try and find some? Oh yea MAN has seen to it that there is very few of these left. All you animal rights activists are full of it, what do you actually do to help these animals? Do you give your last dime? do you live in squalor so your elephant can eat? Do you put the elephant first before all else? Oh no thats right .... you make banners and buy t shirts!

For those who just make narrow minded judgements and have never been to see where this elephant lives or what work the kraal is actually doing to support and strenghten the Asian Elephant I don't really have words for you, I just feel incredibly sorry for you.

[GentlemanJim]

"Releasing the spirit would teach the beast a lesson about what it shouldn't do because elephants are large mammals with the ability to think, he said. After the rite, Plai Ngam would be chained in a corral indefinitely."

Maybe the elephant is more intelligent than Laithongrien Meephan, the owner of "the beast".

better to shoot the poor creature than what he suggests.

Sometimes i wonder............no, T.I.T.

Better to shoot the owner I think!

&lt;deleted&gt;, they're practicing sharia law for elephants now?

Wake up man. This is Thailand, a completely different culture from yours, so please try to understand and and respect it.do not be sarcastic with the culture because you are ignorant of it. This has nothing to do with Sharia Law, Thailand is a Buddhist Nation.

I thought Payboy's jest rather amusing actually

Agreed. Payboy's jest was very funny, there is obviously a surfeit of soap boxes around.

What is even more funny are all the posters using the term Mumbo Jumbo, now on this thread that is very funny indeed, even more so as nobody has said 'excuse the pun'.

[Bindholt]

Why not cut 20 cm of the poor creatures trunc? That would surely teach it a lesson. Or maybe just deduct 500 B from its salary?

[JetsetBkk]

did you read the whole article ,, if you did ,you will find it has nothing to do with that they do that to " free the spirit of the victim "

So comforting to know that the people in charge of these multi-ton animals with huge tusks believe in this mumbo-jumbo.

Yet another person who cannot accept or at least try to respect and understand another's culture. Ignorance reigns supreme !

http://www.buddhanet.net/bvk_study/bvk204.htm

"Yes, O Kalamas, it is right for you to doubt, it is right for you to waver. In a doubtful matter, wavering has arisen," remarked the Buddha and gave them the following advice.

"Come, O Kalamas, do not accept anything on mere hearsay (i.e. thinking that thus have I heard it from a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition (i.e., thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of rumours (i.e., by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures...

[Briggsy]

I wonder if the deceased woman was pregnant and was badgered by her elderly relatives to walk under the elephant. This was considered highly auspicious by the even more highly superstitious locals in the past, and perhaps even still is. It was said to lead to the child being easy to deal with and not troublesome. Since we have no information or press reports, we cannot know only speculate how or why the elephant attacked.

[Thai at Heart]

the crushing power of this 2000-4000 kilogram beast is forgotten ?

oh, the spirit is released, so everything is ok, right?

thainess?

the animal killed a person, put it to sleep... let the policmen do some target practise

Did anyone ask the opinion of the elephant of he feels better know he has had his tusks lopped off?

Do they think the anger management of the elephants brain is in his tusks? Maybe someone should tell these idiots that if they lopped off their peckers they would become billionaires, and see their reaction.

[gaucho]

people get too close to these animals ...if a mahout was there it would have been probably ok .....animal was probably tired and grumpy ...

[troodles]

stupid tourists!

This beautiful and mistreated animal should be released in the forest to live the rest of his life in freedom, Laithongrieus should have his balls cut off and chained

[Eesat]

If you've ever seen the heartbreaking videos of these animals being broken as babies in places like Surin,you wouldn't be surprised at all by this tragedy!
I've seen videos of young elephants just rocking back and forth and nervous twitches,showing signs of insanity.Literally through the stress of being separated from their Mothers at a very early age,then put in a wooden cage with all their limbs tied up and their ears stabbed and hacked again and again with pick-axes,machetes and other nasty blade-type weapons!

[lsal]

Ok - so again - believe it or not the elephant is not going to be 'locked up indefinitely' - the Kraal where the elephant lives is one of few who actually caters for dangerous elephants and rehabilitates them, the elephant will be removed from working with members of the public and will continue to work and live with its mahout in areas where it can be supervised, locking up indefintely is NOT what they do there - this has been misquoted. And all of the bloody morons who seem to have some facination with castration - for crying out loud, if you release a domestic elephant into the wild where the heck is it going to go????????? already there is not enough habitat left for the wild elephants which already are being slaughtered when they come into contact with people when they raid crops etc. what the hell do you think will happen when you release domestic elephants which have no fear of humans into this population?? grow a brain. That is like saying 'oh this owner mistreated their dog/cat/horse/goat - lets release all the domestic dogs/cats/horses/goats to run free in the wild" - yeah right. How about we concentrate on preserving the habitat that is left for the wild elephants and find a way to live alongside domestic ones and maintain breeding programs so the whole species does not die out. Also - these elephants are in no way trained like that other person described which is just darn cruel - a relationship is built with the mahout right from birth, the babies interact with both people and elephant right from the beginning and primarily operate on a mutual trust and bond - the elephants at this facility are not traumatically separated from parents and 'kept in crates' - that is one way to seriously mess up the mother elephant - this place has actually taken on mother elephants that have been mistreated to save them from such trauma. Due to such a strong bond - that is why it was such a problem when these 2 people approaced the elephant without the mahout present - the elephant did not know them, or have a person nearby it trusted to guage a reaction from, so it reacted on instinct.

[GentlemanJim]

If the elephant had killed the person by stepping on their head would they have chopped it's legs off as punishment?

[retell]

If the elephant had killed the person by stepping on their head would they have chopped it's legs off as punishment?

you are talking rubbish the elephant would get a medal

serious not like that please

i am an animal lover and hate to see those marvellous creatures in captivity

plenty of parks where they can thrive and grow and if they need a job for those millitant southerners just give them a ak 47 and night vision goggles an shoot any body coming too close at nighttime , but offcourse if they shoot the elephant the shame will go for 3 generations

[GentlemanJim]

If the elephant had killed the person by stepping on their head would they have chopped it's legs off as punishment?

you are talking rubbish the elephant would get a medal

serious not like that please

i am an animal lover and hate to see those marvellous creatures in captivity

plenty of parks where they can thrive and grow and if they need a job for those millitant southerners just give them a ak 47 and night vision goggles an shoot any body coming too close at nighttime , but offcourse if they shoot the elephant the shame will go for 3 generations

Whew! Have you missed your medication retell? Relax for gawdz sake it's Saturday night

[retell]

If the elephant had killed the person by stepping on their head would they have chopped it's legs off as punishment?

you are talking rubbish the elephant would get a medal

serious not like that please

i am an animal lover and hate to see those marvellous creatures in captivity

plenty of parks where they can thrive and grow and if they need a job for those millitant southerners just give them a ak 47 and night vision goggles an shoot any body coming too close at nighttime , but offcourse if they shoot the elephant the shame will go for 3 generations

Whew! Have you missed your medication retell? Relax for gawdz sake it's Saturday night

sorry to you all was a bit pissed off at the story and in my head ,,,sorry