Scottish Tourist Gored to Death by Elephant in Thailand

Elephant trekking is ubiquitous with visiting Thailand, but one Scottish tourist on holiday in the country recently found out just how dangerous the pastime can become. 

Gareth Crowe, 26, and his 16-year-old step-daughter were thrown from the elephant they were riding, which then went on the attack, according to the Associate Press.

The girl and the handler were able to outrun the giant animal, but Crowe who had a prosthetic leg was unable to escape. Wounded by the elephant’s tusk, the man died at a local hospital.

“We suspect that the hot weather made the elephant angry and that he was not accustomed to his mahout,” Paiboon Omark, Samui district chief, told Agence France-Presse.

Others reported that the elephant became enraged when the trainer climbed off to take a picture of the tourists. The 13-year-old elephant named Rambo was tranquilized and brought back to a corral where it would take a 15-day break.

Photo credit: Dreamstime

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