9. Man Mauled By Elephant
In February of 2016, 36 year old British tourist, Gareth Crowe from Scotland, was killed while riding an elephant in Thailand. Crowe was on vacation with his family when the incident occurred. Crowe and his 16 year old step daughter, Eilidh Hughes, were on a trek riding an elephant when the elephant’s handler stepped down to take photos. The elephant appeared to ignore its handler’s commands and then proceeded to throw Crowe and Hughes off its back. The elephant trampled and gored Crowe to death before running off into the forest. The elephant’s handler blamed Crowe for the incident saying that Crowe teased the animal causing it to become more aggressive. Upon hearing the allegations, Hughes, from her hospital bed in which she was being treated, said the allegations were false and that her stepfather did not tease the animal in any way. A spokesperson from The Charity World Animal Protection stated that the incident is a reminder that elephants were never meant to be ridden and animals tamed for such tourist activities are often under a lot of stress and are both physically and mentally abused. The owners of the elephant have captured it after it ran into the forest and are undecided on whether the animal will be sent to a different park or put down.
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