Baby Elephant "Collapses From Exhaustion" While Walking With Its Mother Carrying Tourists
The mother elephant was seen nudging the calf to its feet with her trunk.
By Tamara Jayne — 28 May 2019, 01:02 PM
A video showing an elephant calf collapsing from apparent exhaustion while forced to walk next to its mum has been making rounds on the Internet
The mother elephant, who was carrying tourists on its back, was attached to its calf with a piece of rope while they walked at Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens in Pattaya, Thailand on 17 May.
The calf, believed to be one year old, was seen falling to the ground as people in the background can be heard saying how tired it might be under the 40 degree sun
The mother was then seen nudging the calf to its feet with her trunk.
The heartbreaking moment was recorded by a Filipino tourist, who works as a teacher in Myanmar, Unilad reported.
"There are many more baby elephants tied with their mother walking around with tourists at their backs enjoying [themselves] under the heat of the sun while these elephants are suffering," she said, according to reports.
"This one baby elephant was so exhausted, and you can see the mother comforting and encouraging her to stand. I'm just concerned for the elephants and want to ensure their welfare is properly taken care of," the teacher continued.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens has denied that they abuse their animals.
"All of the elephants are healthy and treated very well. If there is a problem they are treated by vets. All of the babies here are healthy," the spokesperson said, according to Unilad.
Elephant rides have been a tourist attraction in several countries for years
According to World Animal Protection (WAP), elephants are beaten into submission with hooks or other tools to tame them from young.
The elephant is then forced to accept a person riding on its back and to react to signals - often severe pain is inflicted onto the animal to speed up the process.
WAP revealed that about 3,000 elephants live in "severely cruel" conditions. Many of which are bound in chains and forced to entertain tourists.
As a result, several travel companies like Trip Advisor have since ceased ticket sales offering elephant rides, BBC reported.
Last month, a young elephant named Dumbo died reportedly due to a skeletal condition at Phuket Zoo
It was reported that Dumbo – also called Jumbo – was extremely weak from its condition that its legs broke while it was performing tricks for tourists.
The Phuket News revealed that as the animal struggled to pull itself out of the mud, Dumbo's legs snapped because his bones were too brittle.
Animal charity Moving Animals previously launched a campaign to remove Dumbo from the zoo for better protection and care. The campaign had garnered over 200,000 signatures.