Phuket police on the lookout for mahout and his tourist attraction elephant
Tanyaluk Sakoot


A photo of the elephant and mahout taken on Bang Tao Beach on Wednesday (July 27). Photo: Vicky Kiely

PHUKET: -- Police in Cherng Talay are currently looking for a mahout with a five-year-old elephant which he is using as a tourist attraction at various beaches along Phuket’s west coast, most recently Surin and Bang Tao.

The mahout, who is of Asian nationality, carries a bag of fruit with him as he walks along the beach with the elephant and asks tourists to buy the fruit which they can then feed to the elephant.

In a 39 second video taken on Wednesday (July 27) and passed The Phuket News yesterday (July 28), the mahout is seen walking along Bang Tao beach with the elephant and the recorder asks the mahout how old the elephant is, the mahout holds up one hand and the recorder asks “five?”.

The recorder then asks which company the mahout comes from, he shakes his head.

Deputy Chief of the Cherng Talay Police Lt Col Jarun Bangprasert told The Phuket News yesterday, “After finding out about this incident I have ordered my colleagues to check Surin Beach for any signs of the mahout and his elephant. If we can find them we will ask for the mahout’s identification and his paperwork for owning the elephant.

“We will also ask the mahout the purpose of him having the elephant on the beach. After that we will contact the relevant officials,” Lt Col Jarun said.

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-police-on-the-lookout-for-mahout-and-his-tourist-attraction-elephant-58451.php


-- Phuket News 2016-07-29

How hard is for the police to find an elephant ?? Oh ... that would take some leg work ...

How hard is for the police to find an elephant ?? Oh ... that would take some leg work ...

Maybe we are being too hard, they are hard to spot.

You do have a point though actually leaving the office might help.

Hats off to whomever finds these news articles and to the writer that comes up with the title.

Both provide hours of fun to the TVF community to make wise-cracks at the police.

Hint - look in the fridge

Would have been easy to find before mobile phones. Just make a trunk call!

Why did the elephant paint himself green?

*So he could hide in a bag of M & M's

What did the elephant say to a naked man?
*Hey that's cute but can you breath through it?

ba dum ching

I saw this young elephant in the back of a bloody pickup parked whilst one of a couple of Thai guys were buying a big pack of bananas from a fruit vendor on Sai Yuan a couple of weeks back. They were obviously embarrassed at having a farang standing giving the stink eye and refused to answer me when I'd asked what they were doing with it. The vendor mumbled something and indicated Kata Hill where there's an elephant camp. Where's it's mother then? Taking a nap whilst junior go holiday??? Surely couldn't have escaped the attention of the police on a main thoroughfare. Disgusting. More warnings should be given out to tourists NOT to have photos taken with ANY and ALL wild animals being exploited here. Barring the fact the bloody Chinese wouldn't take any notice anyway. What a dump this place is becoming.

I've seen it in Kamala, but I always thought it came from the elephant camp on the old Kamala/Patong road, just before the top going south.

They will have to send their "elite unit" deep under cover for this job.

How appropriate, a jet-ski is in the background.

Can anyone spot the Slow Loris?

How hard is for the police to find an elephant ?? Oh ... that would take some leg work ...

Reminds me of that old line.........the police couldn't track a bleeding elephant through ten feet of snow.