A 22-year-old Spanish woman tragically lost her life last week while participating in an elephant bathing activity at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Thailand, local police have reported.
Blanca Ojanguren García, a law and international relations student at Spain’s University of Navarra, was washing the ‘panic-stricken’ elephant when it suddenly pushed her with its tusk, causing her to fall and strike her head. She was rushed to hospital but was unable to recover from her injuries.
A mahout from the centre, Theerayut Inthaphudkij, 38, has reportedly been charged with negligence resulting in the death of Garcia.
Experts have suggested that the elephant’s behaviour may have been influenced by stress caused by interactions with tourists in an environment far removed from its natural habitat.
In December last year, we attended an event featuring a talk from John Roberts, director of Elephants & Conservation at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation and group director of Sustainability & Conservation at Minor Hotels.
Roberts shared his knowledge from 20+ years of experience working with elephants in Thailand, highlighting the intersection of wildlife conservation and tourism.
One of his key points was the practice of tailoring activities to accommodate elephants’ varying levels of comfort around people.
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“What we now do is look at the elephant, look at its character,” Roberts said, “which elephant is happy to have strange humans walk around it?
“We have some elephants who are less happy having strangers around and we develop activities that are centre around observation.”
García was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange program and was visiting Thailand with her boyfriend, who witnessed the fatal incident. Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, confirmed that the Spanish consulate in Bangkok is providing support to García’s family during this difficult time.
Bathing elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand, where more than 4,000 wild elephants and a similar number in captivity reside, according to the Department of National Parks. The Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre offers packages costing between 1,900 and 2,900 baht (approximately AU $90 – $135), allowing visitors to cook for, feed, bathe and walk with elephants.
Animal rights activists have long criticised such activities.
Organizations like World Animal Protection argue that bathing and other tourist interactions disrupt elephants’ natural grooming behaviours and expose them to significant stress and potential harm. The charity has called for an end to the breeding of elephants in captivity, noting that over 60 per cent of elephants used for tourism in Asia live in “severely inadequate” conditions.
