Tourists in Thailand don't know they’re riding killer elephants

[dageurreotype]

Is there any difference between a killer elephant and a killer motorcycle or a killer minivan?

Tourists still ride on all of them.

Yes. The elephant is a highly intelligent sentient creature. Those who ride motorbikes (I'm assuming by the adjective 'killer' you mean helmet less/reckless) and in minivans (yabaa anyone?) usually are not.

No one should ever clamber aboard an elephant, any elephant. Preserve it's dignity or suffer the consequences. I'm happy to see this going internationally. Maybe keep the morons from mounting them.

Edited February 14, 2016 by dageurreotype

[stickylies]

tourists know nothing. majority come here and see the infamous thai smile, a smile which can stand for "happy"/"sad"/"enraged"/"frustrated"/"drunk"/"i'm gonna kill you in 15 seconds"/"no understand"/i have diarrhea"...

they go home and infect others. perpetuum mobile. there are very little official warnings about thailand. even in the holy bible, the joke AKA Lonely Planet. i have used common sense since day 1 i came here, ergo never sat on an elephant, never hugged a tiger, never rented a bg, never went to one of those binge-dope-bucket-islands, never believed more than 10% of what i was told

LP has a fairly good talk about issues surrounding elephants. Poaching, over work, abuse, etc. But I doubt many read this.....

I was talking general safety issues. eg. LP nowhere clearly mentions that people who rent a motorcycle without proper DL are breaking the law whereas the guide is fill with "ideal to explore by moped" or "you can rent moped" phrases. LP doesn't mention the utter lack of safety standards for adventurous activities such as diving, climbing, trekking, etc. LP is written by happy harries for happy harries. Everything is great, amazing, fantastic, blah blah. Don't get me wrong, it's a usefull guide for beginners but they know very well what to write and what to hide (diplomatic).

[craigt3365]

tourists know nothing. majority come here and see the infamous thai smile, a smile which can stand for "happy"/"sad"/"enraged"/"frustrated"/"drunk"/"i'm gonna kill you in 15 seconds"/"no understand"/i have diarrhea"...

they go home and infect others. perpetuum mobile. there are very little official warnings about thailand. even in the holy bible, the joke AKA Lonely Planet. i have used common sense since day 1 i came here, ergo never sat on an elephant, never hugged a tiger, never rented a bg, never went to one of those binge-dope-bucket-islands, never believed more than 10% of what i was told

LP has a fairly good talk about issues surrounding elephants. Poaching, over work, abuse, etc. But I doubt many read this.....

I was talking general safety issues. eg. LP nowhere clearly mentions that people who rent a motorcycle without proper DL are breaking the law whereas the guide is fill with "ideal to explore by moped" or "you can rent moped" phrases. LP doesn't mention the utter lack of safety standards for adventurous activities such as diving, climbing, trekking, etc. LP is written by happy harries for happy harries. Everything is great, amazing, fantastic, blah blah. Don't get me wrong, it's a usefull guide for beginners but they know very well what to write and what to hide (diplomatic).

Just opened up the LP book and it's all well laid out. Page 764 in my older book. As I said before, I doubt many read it...and it they do....ignore the advice.

[Robbieseal]

Most tourists could not find Thailand on a map....try a few.

[Ks45672]

Most tourists could not find Thailand on a map....try a few.

https://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=intent://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DaBwm-QPs-E8%23Intent%3Bscheme%3Dhttp%3Bpackage%3Dcom.google.android.youtube%3BS.browser_fallback_url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fm.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DaBwm-QPs-E8%3BS.android.intent.extra.REFERRER_NAME%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.co.th%3BlaunchFlags%3D0x8080000%3Bend&ved=0ahUKEwiNlsLxhffKAhXCCY4KHfKoCXoQjjgIITAC&usg=AFQjCNGfC134_VN-WLzJS-Pu9vCfO_19cQ&sig2=yjxpdaTNzsL9sDQaUaaldA

[roo860]

tourists dont care. they must know about koh tao now but are the numbers down?

it's a certain type of tourist that goes there, the majority of them i mean, and they aren't the most intelligent people...

Dark Tao is one of the most dangerous places in Thailand. It is run by five families, that have no concept of respect, kindness, compassion, or decency. They have used stolen land (leased land with fake title) to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per family, and are now in a position where they are completely above the law. Any and all laws, be they local, state or federal. The army will not touch them (witness the recent B2 catastrophe of justice), they own the local police, and with that kind of money, nobody can disturb your crime empire in this country. Avoid Dark Tao as if it was infected with smallpox. There is a serial killer on the loose there, and he kills for sport. Not worth the risk.

Are there any elephants?

Edited February 14, 2016 by roo860

[Johpa]

BANGKOK, Thailand On any given day in Thailand, tourists could be paying to climb atop an elephant that has previously trampled or gored a human being.

Sure, and on any given day it as recently been shown that you can be hit by a falling meteorite. This is a ridiculous attention grabbing headline (click bait) by the shallowest newspaper published in the USA, but the fact remains that the odds of riding a "killer" elephant are extremely small. I could state that you could go to the Mae Sa camp or the camps up along the Mae Tang and be guaranteed not to be placed upon a killer pachyderm.

[outsider]

Just stop riding the elephants. And the abuse of other animals, for that matter.

[spidermike007]

tourists dont care. they must know about koh tao now but are the numbers down?

it's a certain type of tourist that goes there, the majority of them i mean, and they aren't the most intelligent people...

Dark Tao is one of the most dangerous places in Thailand. It is run by five families, that have no concept of respect, kindness, compassion, or decency. They have used stolen land (leased land with fake title) to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per family, and are now in a position where they are completely above the law. Any and all laws, be they local, state or federal. The army will not touch them (witness the recent B2 catastrophe of justice), they own the local police, and with that kind of money, nobody can disturb your crime empire in this country. Avoid Dark Tao as if it was infected with smallpox. There is a serial killer on the loose there, and he kills for sport. Not worth the risk.

Are there any elephants?

Not sure about Dark Tao. But, there are still some elephants on Samui, and there are "safaris". Two foreigners were killed just a week or two ago. The media reported it as one death. People I know in Samui said it was definitely two. Typical of the media. Death and injury is usually under reported here. A bit of a tourism ministry inspired cover up, one would think. Same with bungee, and all other areas of risk, including traffic fatalities which are barely reported. In Samui, the authorities do everything in their power to suppress this news. I am told by a guy who worked for Samui rescue for many years, that there are up to two foreigners a day that die on the island from motorbike accidents. Many more are injured daily. A lot of the responsibility for that falls on the shoulders of the local police, who demonstrate a staggering and stunning degree of incompetence and indifference.

[Strangebrew]

Just heard TAT's spin on this take killer ride on elephants problem solved.

[Strangebrew]

Most tourists could not find Thailand on a map....try a few.

Most Thai's can't find Thailand on a map either.

[wabothai]

This is what you get when half the world is obsessed with their super phones.

What are you talking about? What does this have to do with the article?

Many people not having the slightest idea what's going on in the world, obsessed with petty shit on their iphones, and in the op's case, have no knowledge of elephant behavior. You want me to go on?

[Stokakrishna]

what a stupid title :killer elephants

they are not killers they are elephants.. wild animals...

would you call tigers: killer tigers??

they are being kept in chains. tortuered, beaten up. abused mentally and physically. so what do you expect?? to be a nice cuddly animal?

killers are those who torture/train them. as well those who support them by paying money to those <deleted>: meaning tourists. who are either stupid or plain ignorant.