A spanish touristwhose age is not yet known, She lost her life this Friday when she was attacked by an elephant while giving him a bath in a pachyderm center on the island of Yao Yai, in the southwest of Thailand, according to sources from the Police and the center.
The information was confirmed by a worker at the ‘Koh Yao Elephant Care’ center, who explained that The tourist was bathing the elephant when she passed in front of the animal and it stabbed her with a tusk.causing injuries from which he finally lost his life.
Caution when interacting with elephants
Washing elephants or bathing with them are Popular activities at some leisure centers in Thailandwhere pachyderms also participate in shows for tourists.
Most elephant incidents They usually occur with wild specimenswhich sometimes cross into areas inhabited by people, due to the loss of natural habitat.
In the last 12 years, there have been 240 deaths due to attacks by wild elephants, including 39 fatalities in 2024according to data from the Department of National Parks cited by the newspaper ‘The Nation’.
This department estimates that More than 4,000 wild elephants live in sanctuaries, national parks and nature reserves of Thailand, a population that is increasing although still far below the 300,000 pachyderms that populated the country more than a century ago.
It is also estimated that there is a similar population of domestic elephants in the country, most of them used in shows intended for tourists.
In the past, thousands of elephants were used in the logging industry, but when logging was prohibited in 1989, the pachyderms began to be exhibited in the streets to beg for alms – something that is no longer observed in the country – and in entertainment centers.
