Tourist killed by elephant at sanctuary in Thailand

A 2022 viral video captured a man in an aggressive tug-of-war with an orangutan through a cage at a zoo. The man gets too close to the enclosure and the orangutan grabs his shirt, pulling him dangerously close. The man's friend tries to help pull him away but the powerful ape grips the man's leg, and at one point the man is even completely horizontal. It's unclear when or where the video took place, but TMZ reports the man was supposedly okay in the end.

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Lion attack -

An attack happened at Jamaica Zoo in Lacovia, St Elizabeth, on May 20, 2022, with a video to prove it. The disturbing footage of a lion biting off a zoo attendant's finger after the man sticks his hand in the lion's cage has gone viral.

The man was prodding and stroking the lion as it roared and bared its teeth, then snagged the man's finger as he swore and tried to pull his hand out. According to Newsweek, witnesses thought he was joking at first until they saw that the first joint of his finger was gone. Pamela Lawson, managing director at the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), said that this isn't the first complaint Jamaica Zoo has received and added, "You keep kicking... After a while, it's going to turn around and bite you."

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Lioness attack -

A lioness is said to have opened a door of its enclosure by pushing open an iron lever at a zoo in central Iran on January 30, 2022. The animal then mauled a zookeeper to death who was coming to feed her, the BBC reports. The lioness and another escaped lion then roamed the zoo for several hours until the pair were recaptured.

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Lion attack -

At Shoalhaven Zoo (about 150 km/90 mi south of Sydney) in December 2020, two lions attacked a zookeeper. The 35-year-old woman "suffered severe face and neck injuries," according to the BBC. She had been cleaning an enclosure when the animals ambushed her, and paramedics found her unconscious in the enclosure with severe injuries. The zookeeper was flown to a hospital in Sydney in critical condition.

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The tale of Tilikum -

This one’s for the history books. In 2010, a killer whale named Tilikum shocked the world when he attacked a whale instructor at SeaWorld Orlando.

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The tale of Tilikum -

Dawn Brancheau turned away from Tilikum during a performance, and the animal pulled her by the ponytail, dragging her underwater and killing her. Tilikum had previously been involved in the deaths of two others (in 1992 and 1999).

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Harambe -

Here’s another historical zoo attack. Back in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo, a gorilla named Harambe made headlines worldwide after a child climbed into his enclosure.

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Harambe -

Harambe grabbed the boy, and dragged him around the enclosure. A zookeeper shot the gorilla, killing him. To this day, there is a lot of controversy as to whether the killing was justified.

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Killed in the water -

In 2012, disaster struck Copenhagen Zoo. A 21-year-old man was killed after entering the Siberian tiger den. “He was killed in the water,” a police spokesman told the Associated Press.

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Attacked by wolves -

Patricia Wyman was a new hire when she was attacked at a wildlife reserve in Ontario, Canada in 1996.

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Attacked by wolves - Wyman was taking care of five gray wolves, who eventually turned on her and killed her. There were no witnesses, but some say she tripped, triggering a predatory instinct from the wolves.

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Can't bear it - In 2009, a woman hopped the fence at Berlin Zoo, coming face-to-face with a polar bear.

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Can't bear it - The animal got a few bites of her back, before she was rescued by zookeepers.

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A cleaner is killed - Back in 2008, a tragedy occurred at Singapore Zoo. Three white Bengal tigers attacked a zoo cleaner, mauling him to death in their enclosure.

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A cleaner is killed - Nordin Montong was 32 years old when he died, after climbing a low wall and walking through a moat in the enclosure.

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Unchained melody -

Tapirs aren’t typically known to be violent, but Melody defied expectations at Oklahoma Zoo in 1998.

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Unchained melody - Melody was being fed by zookeeper Lisa Morehead. The animal apparently bit her arm, eventually tearing it off. Yikes.

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An unexpected threat -

In 2012 at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, a two-year-old elephant proved to be an unexpected threat. The animal pinned a trainer to a wall with its trunk, but the woman made it out alive.

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A tiger escapes - On December 25, 2007, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped its enclosure at San Francisco Zoo. The animal attacked three men, with one casualty.

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A tiger escapes -

As a result, the zoo updated its tiger enclosures. Hot wire lines were also installed into the enclosure, as reported by SFGate.

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Binky - In July 1994 at the Alaska Zoo,
an Australian tourist had a brush with death after she snuck into the polar bear enclosure. Kathryn Warburton got out alive, but Binky the polar bear kept one of her shoes as a trophy.

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Don't leave the vehicle - In 2016, a woman by the name of Ms Zhao was attacked at an animal park near Beijing. She drove into the tiger enclosure, left her car, and met a gruesome fate.

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Gu Gu - Beijing Zoo is home to Gu Gu, a giant panda who has gotten pretty violent over the years.

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Gu Gu - The panda has reportedly attacked three people, including a drunk man in 2006 and a 15-year-old in 2007.

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Mila the elephant - Mila was an elephant who spent three decades in the circus before joining Franklin Zoo in New Zealand.

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Mila the elephant - Zoo owner Helen Schofield apparently wanted to transfer Mila to a sanctuary in California. However, she didn’t get the chance, as Mila killed Schofield with her trunk in 2012.

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Jabari the gorilla - Disaster struck the Dallas Zoo in 2004, after a lowland gorilla was apparently taunted by some visitors.

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Jabari the gorilla - Jabari the gorilla scaled the concave walls, and started to cause mayhem. Everyone survived but Jabari, who was gunned down by SWAT.

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The violent lioness - In Johannesburg, a zoo worker came out of retirement to help out with lions like Nyanga.

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The violent lioness - But Nyanga, a lioness, didn’t take to Joe Ramonetha kindly. In 2012, she bit through his neck, killing him. After that, the lioness was sent to a sanctuary.

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Young victim - Pittsburgh Zoo saw a tragedy in 2012, when two-year-old Maddox Derkosh fell into a wild dog enclosure.

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Young victim - The boy didn’t survive, and the autopsy revealed that he was killed by the animal attack.

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Zanesville - By far the most gruesome entry here, be advised this story has some sensitive details. Terry Thomspon was a Vietnam war veteran who built up his own zoo in Zanesville, Ohio.

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Zanesville -

One day in October 2011, Thompson freed dozens of the animals, including lions, tigers, grizzly bears, and monkeys, into the wild. He killed himself, and the exotic animals were successfully hunted down by law enforcement.

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Orangutan incident -

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Lion attack -

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Lioness attack -

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Lion attack -

Getty Images

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The tale of Tilikum -

This one’s for the history books. In 2010, a killer whale named Tilikum shocked the world when he attacked a whale instructor at SeaWorld Orlando.

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The tale of Tilikum -

Shutterstock

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Harambe -

Here’s another historical zoo attack. Back in 2016 at the Cincinnati Zoo, a gorilla named Harambe made headlines worldwide after a child climbed into his enclosure.

Getty Images

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Harambe -

Harambe grabbed the boy, and dragged him around the enclosure. A zookeeper shot the gorilla, killing him. To this day, there is a lot of controversy as to whether the killing was justified.

Getty Images

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Killed in the water -

In 2012, disaster struck Copenhagen Zoo. A 21-year-old man was killed after entering the Siberian tiger den. “He was killed in the water,” a police spokesman told the Associated Press.

Shutterstock

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Attacked by wolves -

Patricia Wyman was a new hire when she was attacked at a wildlife reserve in Ontario, Canada in 1996.

Shutterstock

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Can't bear it - In 2009, a woman hopped the fence at Berlin Zoo, coming face-to-face with a polar bear.

12 / 35 Fotos

Can't bear it - The animal got a few bites of her back, before she was rescued by zookeepers.

13 / 35 Fotos

A cleaner is killed - Back in 2008, a tragedy occurred at Singapore Zoo. Three white Bengal tigers attacked a zoo cleaner, mauling him to death in their enclosure.

14 / 35 Fotos

A cleaner is killed - Nordin Montong was 32 years old when he died, after climbing a low wall and walking through a moat in the enclosure.

15 / 35 Fotos

Unchained melody -

Tapirs aren’t typically known to be violent, but Melody defied expectations at Oklahoma Zoo in 1998.

Getty Images

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Unchained melody - Melody was being fed by zookeeper Lisa Morehead. The animal apparently bit her arm, eventually tearing it off. Yikes.

17 / 35 Fotos

An unexpected threat -

In 2012 at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, a two-year-old elephant proved to be an unexpected threat. The animal pinned a trainer to a wall with its trunk, but the woman made it out alive.

Getty Images

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A tiger escapes - On December 25, 2007, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped its enclosure at San Francisco Zoo. The animal attacked three men, with one casualty.

19 / 35 Fotos

A tiger escapes -

As a result, the zoo updated its tiger enclosures. Hot wire lines were also installed into the enclosure, as reported by SFGate.

Shutterstock

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Don't leave the vehicle - In 2016, a woman by the name of Ms Zhao was attacked at an animal park near Beijing. She drove into the tiger enclosure, left her car, and met a gruesome fate.

22 / 35 Fotos

Gu Gu - Beijing Zoo is home to Gu Gu, a giant panda who has gotten pretty violent over the years.

23 / 35 Fotos

Gu Gu - The panda has reportedly attacked three people, including a drunk man in 2006 and a 15-year-old in 2007.

24 / 35 Fotos

Mila the elephant - Mila was an elephant who spent three decades in the circus before joining Franklin Zoo in New Zealand.

25 / 35 Fotos

Mila the elephant - Zoo owner Helen Schofield apparently wanted to transfer Mila to a sanctuary in California. However, she didn’t get the chance, as Mila killed Schofield with her trunk in 2012.

26 / 35 Fotos

Jabari the gorilla - Disaster struck the Dallas Zoo in 2004, after a lowland gorilla was apparently taunted by some visitors.

27 / 35 Fotos

Jabari the gorilla - Jabari the gorilla scaled the concave walls, and started to cause mayhem. Everyone survived but Jabari, who was gunned down by SWAT.

28 / 35 Fotos

The violent lioness - In Johannesburg, a zoo worker came out of retirement to help out with lions like Nyanga.

29 / 35 Fotos

The violent lioness - But Nyanga, a lioness, didn’t take to Joe Ramonetha kindly. In 2012, she bit through his neck, killing him. After that, the lioness was sent to a sanctuary.

30 / 35 Fotos

Young victim - Pittsburgh Zoo saw a tragedy in 2012, when two-year-old Maddox Derkosh fell into a wild dog enclosure.

31 / 35 Fotos

Young victim - The boy didn’t survive, and the autopsy revealed that he was killed by the animal attack.

32 / 35 Fotos

Zanesville - By far the most gruesome entry here, be advised this story has some sensitive details. Terry Thomspon was a Vietnam war veteran who built up his own zoo in Zanesville, Ohio.

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Zanesville -

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Tourist killed by elephant at sanctuary in Thailand

The stressed elephant gored a Spanish woman to death

06/01/25 | StarsInsider

LIFESTYLE Animals

A 22-year-old woman from Spain has been killed by an elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care center in Thailand.

Blanca Ojanguren García was washing the elephant as a part of one of the center's 'elephant care' tour packages when she was gored to death by the animal. Experts have since commented that the elephant could have been “stressed” and “panic-stricken” at having to interact with tourists. The center is yet to comment.

García was a law and international relations student at the University of Navarra, Spain. She was living in Taiwan on a student exchange program and visiting Thailand with her boyfriend, who witnessed the attack.

Bathing elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand, which has often been criticized by animal activists, who believe it stresses the animals out. According to the World Animal Protection charity, at least 60% of elephants used for tourism in Asia are living in "severely inadequate" conditions.

Sadly, this is not the first time an animal at a sanctuary or zoo has attacked. Take a look at this gallery for a roundup of the most violent incidents.