Elephant literally ridden to death when scorching Cambodia heat kills it
- 8 years ago
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA — The death of an elephant in Cambodia has led to an online outcry and calls for tourist rides on the animals to be outlawed.
Sambo the elephant collapsed and died on Friday at the Angkor Wat temple complex. The elephant had been giving rides to tourists in temperatures which hit 40 degrees Celsius, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
The animal died from a heart attack brought on by high temperatures and lack of wind, its owners told the Phnom Penh Post. She was aged between 40 and 45 years old and had worked for the Angkor Elephant Company since 2001.
Photos of the dead elephant have gone viral and led to calls for tourist rides to be banned at Angkor Wat.
A Change.org petition asks APSARA, the Cambodian management authority of Angkor, to stop the practice at the temple complex. As of Wednesday, more than 45,000 people had signed the petition.
The petition says Sambo's death should be the final wake-up call needed to end what it describes as a horrific practice.
Elephant rides are cruel and harmful to the animals, according to the petition, and animal welfare organisation NGO World Animal Protection agrees.
In February, it released a report naming elephant riding as the cruellest wildlife tourist attraction, Stuff.co.nz reported.
The Angkor Elephant Company has 13 remaining elephants, which represents the largest concentration of captive elephants in Cambodia, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
The company's owner said on Tuesday the elephants will now work about four and a half hours a day, an hour less than before Sambo's death, according to the New York Daily News.
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Sambo the elephant collapsed and died on Friday at the Angkor Wat temple complex. The elephant had been giving rides to tourists in temperatures which hit 40 degrees Celsius, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
The animal died from a heart attack brought on by high temperatures and lack of wind, its owners told the Phnom Penh Post. She was aged between 40 and 45 years old and had worked for the Angkor Elephant Company since 2001.
Photos of the dead elephant have gone viral and led to calls for tourist rides to be banned at Angkor Wat.
A Change.org petition asks APSARA, the Cambodian management authority of Angkor, to stop the practice at the temple complex. As of Wednesday, more than 45,000 people had signed the petition.
The petition says Sambo's death should be the final wake-up call needed to end what it describes as a horrific practice.
Elephant rides are cruel and harmful to the animals, according to the petition, and animal welfare organisation NGO World Animal Protection agrees.
In February, it released a report naming elephant riding as the cruellest wildlife tourist attraction, Stuff.co.nz reported.
The Angkor Elephant Company has 13 remaining elephants, which represents the largest concentration of captive elephants in Cambodia, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
The company's owner said on Tuesday the elephants will now work about four and a half hours a day, an hour less than before Sambo's death, according to the New York Daily News.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
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Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
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