14 DAY TRIAL // This past weekend, a male elephant threw its handler off its back and trampled all over his body. The man suffered serious injuries and passed away shortly after, long before anybody even had a chance to rush him to a hospital.
Having killed its handler, the bull elephant made a run for it and headed into the jungle. However, it was found and tranquilized about 30 minutes later. It is believed that the animal turned this aggressive because it was in must.
The details of this horrific incident
According to Daily Mail, it was this past Sunday that the elephant's handler, together with two tourists, got comfy on the animal's back and embarked on a trek through a jungle in south-west Thailand.
At the time the handler and the tourists set off the explore the local wilderness, the elephant, named Meaw, was quite calm and well behaved. However, it wasn't very long before things took a turn for the absolute worst.
Word has it that, while walking around the jungle, the elephant suddenly started acting aggressively. As mentioned, the animal somehow managed to throw its handler off its back, and as soon as the man hit the ground, it trampled him.
60-year-old Suk Subbak suffered severe injuries and passed away in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, the elephant disappeared into the jungle. When the animal made a run for it, the two tourists, a woman and her 9-year-old daughter, were still holding on to its back.
It took rescuers about 30 minutes to locate the elephant. Having found it, they had no choice but tranquilize it so that the woman and her daughter could safely climb off its back. The tourists surely experienced the scare of a lifetime, but other than that, they walked away unharmed.
Why did this elephant turn aggressive?
This is yet to be confirmed, but some say that the animal killed its handler and ran off with the woman and her child because it was in must. For those unaware, must is a periodic condition in bull elephants that is characterized by a rise in reproductive hormones.
It is said that, while in must, male elephants produce about 40 to 60 times more testosterone than they normally do. As a result, they become freakishly aggressive and develop a sudden taste for fights. Simply put, they go bananas.
One can only assume that, when he and the tourists left for the jungle, handler Suk Subbak had no idea that his elephant was in must. Then again, maybe the 60-year-old man believed that he could somehow manage to control the animal. Either way, his decision to ride Meaw this past Sunday proved a dreadful mistake.
