Expert warns Americans about elephant tourism after law student, 22, is killed in Thailand: Recipe for disaster

An expert on Asian elephants is sounding the alarm about “elephant sanctuaries” after a tourist was killed while visiting one in Thailand.Blanca Ojanguren García, 22, a law student at the University of Navarra, died last week.She was bathing an elephant named Phang Somboon at Koh Yao Elephant Care when the 45-year-old animal killed her, according to Spanish media.Around 18 people were at the sanctuary at the time, including the victim’s boyfriend, the company told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.No other visitors were injured, and Phang Somboon’s handler was later arrested for negligence, according to Thai authorities.Other details about the incident, such as how the animals were treated, are still unknown.But the incident raises questions about how safe elephant sanctuaries, which lure tourists with promises of getting up close with the animals, really are.Duncan McNair, the CEO of London-based charity Save the Asian Elephants, spoke with Fox News Digital about the tragedy and warned that tourists should think twice before visiting one.“‘Sanctuary,’ a bit like ‘havens’ and ‘orphanages,’ is a very nasty term that is usually devoid of meaning or certainly devoid of accuracy,” McNair said.“The vast majority of sanctuaries in Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, and Cambodia … are not ethical.They are brutal, and they do it all for money.”It is still unknown why the elephant struck García, or how the sanctuary’s handlers treated the creature before the killing.But McNair said while it’s possible the elephant was unaware of its strength, it was more likely lashing out against the conditions it was kept in.“[The trunk] is an extraordinarily diverse and durable organ that is multipurpose,” McNair explained.

“An elephant doesn’t randomly lash around or swing around with its trunk.… It’s wholly unlikely that this was an accident.“So why did it happen? Well, of course, because the elephant, which was like pretty much all elephan...