CityNews – A 25-year-old elephant in musth killed a Karen mahout at Phutawan Elephant Camp in Mae Wang area on August 26th.
Musth is a periodic condition that effects mainly male elephants, causing a sharp rise in testosterone and aggressive behaviour. The elephant and mahout were giving a ride to a Chinese family at about 09:30 am when the bull suddenly erupted into a fury.
The mahout was killed, and was later identified as Surachai Daengpumipak, aged around 24, from Mae Wang.
The elephant, fled into the forest with the Chinese family still on its back. The family was not hurt, and the elephant was eventually calmed down by other mahouts and the elephant and family were escorted back to camp.
Reports say that the elephant was recently under the guide of a new mahout, and may have had trouble adjusting to its new partner. Elephants used for tourism in Thailand are also often times subjected to long hours of labour causing stress that can result in outbursts of aggressive behaviour.