Shocking moment distressed elephant collapses while being beaten and forced on to a truck in Thailand
- Handlers try to grapple the anguished elephant onto a truck in northern Thailand
- Men prod the elephant with bullhooks as the majestic animal lays unconscious
- The animal is thought to be particularly irritable because of the mating season
A distressed elephant has been brutally beaten after it collapsed and fell after being forced onto a truck in Thailand.
Footage shows the elephant named Plai Tongkhun being grappled up a ramp and onto the truck by a mahout riding the animal in the Surin province in northeast Thailand.
The horrifying footage from November 17 captures the anguished elephant as men wielding bullhooks, long poles with hooks used to manipulate the elephant by prodding in sensitive areas, stand around the truck.
Handlers try to grapple the anguished elephant onto a truck in northeast Thailand
Footage shows the elephant named Plai Tongkhun being grappled up a ramp and onto the truck by a mahout riding the animal in the Surin province in northeast Thailand
Men wielding bullhooks, long poles with hooks used to manipulate the elephant by prodding in sensitive areas, stand around the truck and the animal
The Asian elephant then collapses and falls after being forced onto the truck in Thailand
The elephant falls from the truck and appears to lose consciousness
As the Asian elephant becomes distressed, the animal repeatedly rams into the side of the truck before it falls backward from the vehicle.
The animal then lies motionless on the ground for a short while as one handler wraps his arms around the head of the elephant to get it back onto its feet again.
A couple more handlers then try to do the same thing, with other men prodding at the elephant with their bullhooks, but the animal appears to lay unconscious.
The handlers then resort to typing rope around the waste and legs of the motionless jumbo elephant.
The animal eventually regains consciousness and returns to its feet, with the mahout remounting the animal.
The elephant is thought to be particularly irritable due to the current mating season which lasts until early January.
As the elephant falls, men use the bullhooks to beat and prod at the animal
The animal then lies motionless on the ground for a short while
The handlers then resort to typing rope around the waste and legs of the motionless jumbo elephant
Sujitta Jumjit, an onlooker watching the horrifying incident, said: ‘Plai Tongkhun was in musth so the caretakers were trying to get him back to the camp.
‘One of his eyes was blinded from the liquid that is secreted during musth so I guess he must have lost balance and fallen off the truck while being irritated at everything around him.
‘Nobody was seriously injured and Plai Tongkhun is now resting at the camp safely.’
As a result of the mating season, hormone levels rise and the elephant goes into the state of ‘musth’, lasting some months. The rise in hormone and testosterone levels mean adult male elephants can often clash due to the season.
The elephant is thought to be particularly irritable due to the current mating season which lasts until the early January
The handlers then resort to typing rope around the waste and legs of the motionless jumbo elephant
The animal eventually regains consciousness and returns to its feet, with the mahout remounting the animal
Elephants are the national animal of Thailand with an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living wild in the country.
In Thailand’s wild, elephants largely roam free within the country’s forests and national parks.
The majestic animals are also protected by legislation in Thailand. For killing an elephant, you can be jailed for up to three years and be given a fine of 1,000 baht (£23).
Some elephants are also kept in captivity as part of the country’s tourist industry, as well as being hired out for religious festivals and ceremonies.