Spanish Woman Killed by Elephant While Bathing It in Thailand, Police Report
A Spanish woman, Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, was tragically killed by an elephant while bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand. The incident occurred at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center on Koh Yao Yai Island, where the animal reportedly panicked and fatally struck Garcia with its tusk. This highlights ongoing concerns about the safety of human-elephant interactions and the welfare of elephants in Thailand's tourism industry.
A 22-year-old Spanish woman, Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, was fatally gored by an elephant while bathing the animal at a sanctuary in southern Thailand on Friday, local police reported.
Garcia and her boyfriend were bathing the elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center when the animal appeared to panic and struck her with its tusk, according to police.
Bathing elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand, a country known for its wild and domesticated elephant populations.
Garcia was visiting Thailand with her boyfriend, and the couple had taken a day trip to the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center on Koh Yao Yai Island, while staying on the nearby resort island of Phuket, Koh Yao district police chief Charan Bangprasert told CNN. The sanctuary owner reported the incident to authorities on Friday, and an investigation is currently underway.
CNN has reached out to both the elephant care center and Spain's embassy in Thailand for comment.
Elephants, Thailand's national animal, have faced a significant decline in their wild population in recent decades, largely due to threats from tourism, logging, poaching, and habitat loss caused by human encroachment.
Experts estimate that Thailand's wild elephant population has declined to between 3,000 and 4,000, a significant drop from more than 100,000 at the start of the 20th century.
At the same time, the number of captive elephants has surged by 134% between 2010 and 2020, with around 2,800 elephants currently held in tourism venues across Thailand, according to the international non-profit World Animal Protection.
The charity has condemned the exploitation of elephants by the tourism industry and called for an end to captive breeding, raising concerns about the conditions many elephants endure, including solitary confinement.
Elephants are highly intelligent animals with the capacity for complex thoughts and emotions, the charity stated in a 2020 report. Managing elephants is extremely high-risk and underscores their unsuitability for captive environments, particularly when in direct contact with humans.
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