BANGKOK (AP) – A Scottish tourist has been gored to death by an elephant that he and his 16-year-old stepdaughter were riding on the resort island of Samui, Thai authorities said Tuesday.
Police Lt. Rotjanart Kiewjan said the animal threw Gareth Crowe and Eilidh Hughes to the ground during a trek on Monday. The elephant then gored Crowe with his tusk and stomped on him.
Thai news reports said the elephant became enraged after its trainer, known as a mahout, climbed off to take a picture of the tourists. Police think hot weather may have disturbed the 13-year-old elephant.
The mahout, who is from Myanmar, was also gored and Hughes was injured from her fall. Both were hospitalized.
There was speculation that the elephant might have been in a state of musth, when it becomes more aggressive during its mating cycle, but Cherdchai Jaroenwech of the Office of Livestock Development said that was not the case.