Elephant Handler Tourists: Angry Pachyderm Kills Man, Flees With 2 Russian Tourists

Two Russian tourists are recovering from a nail-biting ride and animal attack over the weekend in Thailand. According to a November 17 Fox News report, an elephant trampled his handler to death, and in the ensuing excitement, the large male pachyderm fled with its two riders. After hours of coaxing the elephant to calm down, and nearly two miles of tracking through the Thai thicket, police and animal specialists were able to rescue the tourists.

According to police spokesperson, Lt. Col. Laksanawimol, it all started out in what was supposed to be an uneventful day. However, in the blink of an eye, one man was dead, and two visitors to the country went on the ride of their lives.

A mother and her 9-year-old daughter rode atop an elephant through a designated trek in southern Thailand. The Russian tourists were looking forward to journeying through the jungle along the trail that would eventually take them to an area by a waterfall in the city of Phang Ngain. However, about 15 minutes into the ride, the animal suddenly became excited and began attacking its 60-year-old handler.

Before making off with the two riders, the elephant trampled the handler to death. His body was found later in a creek along the trail. It’s unknown how rescue workers learned of the distressing situation, but they tracked down the runaway elephant and the two tourists after nearly two miles.

Meaw the bull elephant was found by trackers just south of Bangkok. Workers tried to calm down the agitated animal, to no avail. That’s when a decision was made to tranquilize the elephant for everyone’s safety, including its own. After killing its handler, workers were learning on the site of caution. It took seven darts, but the two riders were taken to safety.

According to National Geographic, elephants are easily spooked, especially by snakes or big cat predators. However, Thai officials think the elephant crushed its handler to death because it was in a state of musth. Essentially, this is a period in which bull elephants have high levels of testosterone and are looking to mate with females. A musth state is often the topic of debate. Some believe it’s due to a heightened sexual phase, while others contend it means an elephant is marking its territory from rival males.

The Inquisitr has been providing ongoing coverage of shark attacks as of late. However, these feared carnivores only account for a handful of human fatalities per year, while humans kill an estimated 100 million, or tens of thousands of sharks per hour. Elephants, on the other hand, kill about 500 humans annually. However, the attacks are usually the result of territory encroachment; man is constantly narrowing elephant feeding habitats, and they are forced to venture into farm and residential land in search of food. Other elephant attacks take place as a result of poaching for tusks in the ivory trade. And as they say, “an elephant never forgets.”

It’s unknown what the fate is of the elephant that killed its handler, but the tourists were not injured. However, these largely gentle giants are revered in Asia and are central to its culture.

[Image via: SayOMG]