A Ratchaburi elephant camp has responded to a viral video of a mahout throwing a punch at a baby elephant, forcing her to cower and step back, after the footage sparked international anger.
The video was posted by Australian tourist Charley Costin on Wednesday, who said she was in “absolute disgust” because of the mahout’s action.
Thanapat Kayar, owner of Chang Puak Camp Damneonsaduak, said yesterday the teen mahout only wanted to ensure the safety of tourists because the elephants usually try to take bananas from their hands. The teen mahout may have shown a lack of manners to the tourists, he said, but he did not actually land a punch on the elephant, which is how they usually interact.
The elephant in the video was identified as a three-year-old female named “Tukky.”
Thanapat added that when the mahout touched Tukky’s ear and she made a noise, the elephant was not hurt, but merely thanking the tourist for the bananas. That’s why the mahout said “Thank you,” in the video to the camera in an attempt to explain as he did not speak English.
The owner said the teen mahout in the video had bonded and lived with the elephants. The camp will not punish or fire the mahout, but the teen requested to be suspended and said he would come back to work when he was ready, TNN reported.
Meanwhile, Soraida Salwala, founder of Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, said the act constituted animal abuse. The foundation is investigating the incident and will pass their findings on to the Thai Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in order to have the mahout prosecuted, according to Thairath.
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