He killed the young woman Asian elephant at a sanctuary in Thailand on Friday during a swim that went wrong, according to officials.
Spanish national Blanca Ojanguren, 22, was visiting Koh Yao Elephant Care on Yao Yai Island with her boyfriend at the time of the incident, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported over the weekend. She was studying law at the University of Navarre at the time.
Koh Yao Elephant Care told the Spanish publication that the 50-year-old elephant pushed Ojanguren with his trunk while she was bathing her, causing the fatal blow. About 18 people were in the shelter at the time, including the victim’s boyfriend.
The tourist was rushed to a local hospital where she later died, said the owner of the refuge. Because of this, the company is temporarily closed.
Blanca Ojanguren, 22, was visiting Koh Yao Elephant Care on Yao Yai Island at the time of her death. (Equestrian Federation of Castilla y León via Facebook)
Experts told Argentinian newspaper Clarin that the elephant was likely stressed from interacting with tourists outside its natural habitat, but officials did not release details about what led to the attack.
Koh Yao Elephant Care offers tour packages ranging from $50 to $85, according to its booking website. The company offered two-hour encounters with the elephants that included activities ranging from cooking classes to kayaking.
“Visitors often have the opportunity to join guided tours led by expert staff who educate guests about elephant behavior, biology and the sanctuary’s mission,” the website says. “This experience allows for a close encounter with these magnificent animals while respecting their well-being.”
Elephants, who are deeply tender and intelligent animals, they are known to occasionally kill people when they are under physical and mental difficulties. 2022 Asian elephant tore his sneaker in half with a tusk in Thailand’s Phang Nga province.
Officials later discovered that the elephant’s handler had forced the elephant to haul wood to a rubber plantation in hot weather, causing the animal to become overworked.
Elephants Boon Thong, Ronaaldo and his mother, Lersu, stand on a hillside near Mae Sapok village on July 21, 2020 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)
At the time, Save the Asian Elephants executive director Duncan McNair told Newsweek that elephants are vulnerable to abuse and can become stressed by human behavior.
“[It] is another powerful reminder that Asian elephants are, and always will be, wild animals that can attack and kill when abused or under too much stress by humans,” McNair said.
In zoos in the United States, visitors and most staff members are usually prohibited from touching elephants. But elephant sanctuaries in Thailand lure tourists with promises of close interaction with the animals.
According to the Global Federation for Animal Sanctuaries, the quality of animal sanctuaries, including elephant sanctuaries, varies greatly.
“It is a loosely regulated industry where facilities that keep animals in poor conditions can be recognized compared to those of the highest quality,” the site said. “For anyone investing in the welfare of captive animals, there is a need to discern the best sanctuaries and rescues to determine where resources are best invested, where the need for help is greatest, who provides a model to follow, and who to turn to in time crisis.”
Asian elephants are gentle animals, but they are still capable of killing humans in certain situations. (iStock)
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Koh Yao Elephant Care did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital reached out to wildlife experts for more information.
