Latest news with #WildlifeFriendsFoundationThailand
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Harrowing moment tourist is mauled while trying to take selfie with tiger
This is the harrowing moment a tourist is mauled by a tiger while trying to take a selfie with the animal. Footage circulating online shows the holidaymaker, believed to be from India, walking alongside the tiger while holding its chain at Tiger Kingdom in Phuket, Thailand. He can then be seen crouching beside the animal to pose for a photo. But as the trainer uses a stick to instruct the big cat to sit down and the tourist puts his arm around the tiger's back, the animal suddenly attacks the man, who is heard screaming. Shocked onlookers panic as the incident unfolds and the video ends abruptly as staff intervene to save the man. According to reports, the tourist suffered minor injuries in the attack. The incident has raised serious concerns about wildlife safety and tourism ethics in places like Tiger Kingdom Phuket, which is described on Tripadvisor as "a once in a lifetime experience where you can meet, play, and have your photo taken with tigers." Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, a rescue centre for elephants, monkeys and jungle cats, called for an end on big cat exploitation, saying: "This cruelty must end. For their safety - and ours." A person wrote on X, "Cats generally do not like being petted on the lower (back) body especially near butts. This man was petting the tiger continuously near above mentioned body area which must have frustrated the tiger. Final straw was when the man cupped it for a photo." Another said, "Been there. It's Tiger Kingdom in Phuket. They sedate the tigers just enough that they don't have the will to attack. Always feared this could happen." Someone else added: "Hopefully this forces the authorities to crack down on these places. It's plain cruelty." One more said: "What is meant to be wild should stay in the wild." Animal welfare organisations advise against visiting places such as tiger entertainment venues, which are common in South-East Asia, particularly Thailand, due to concerns about conservation and animal cruelty. The Environmental Investigation Agency said in a post on its website: "The simplest advice we can give you is if an establishment offers direct tourist interactions with captive animals (selfies, hugging, feeding) and/or promotes tigers engaging in unnatural behaviours (e.g. tricks or performances) then do not visit. "By not spending your money in tiger entertainment venues you will reduce the profitability of the tiger entertainment industry and help end these cruel practices for good." It also said cubs are often separated from their mothers within weeks of being born so that they can be hand-raised and bottle-fed by tourist. It added: "This is extremely stressful for both cubs and mothers, particularly if you consider that, in the wild, they would stay together for a couple of years. Furthermore, tigers are often confined to small, barren enclosures or cages resulting in significant physical and psychological distress, especially considering that tigers in the wild can roam many kilometres in a single night! Frequent handling and visitor contact in loud environments causes the animals further stress and, in order to perform for tourists, tigers are subjected to cruel training regimes." In December 2024, a zookeeper who had worked with tigers for years was mauled to death when he stepped inside the big cat enclosure at the Pitești Zoo. And in September 2024, a tiger mauled an animal handler at Dreamworld, in Queensland's Gold Coast, with the victim suffering "some serious lacerations and puncture wounds".
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Harrowing moment tourist is mauled while trying to take selfie with tiger
A tourist who was attempting to pose for a photo with a tiger in Thailand was attacked by the animal and suffered minor injuries - footage of the incident has gone viral This is the harrowing moment a tourist is mauled by a tiger while trying to take a selfie with the animal. Footage circulating online shows the holidaymaker, believed to be from India, walking alongside the tiger while holding its chain at Tiger Kingdom in Phuket, Thailand. He can then be seen crouching beside the animal to pose for a photo. But as the trainer uses a stick to instruct the big cat to sit down and the tourist puts his arm around the tiger's back, the animal suddenly attacks the man, who is heard screaming. Shocked onlookers panic as the incident unfolds and the video ends abruptly as staff intervene to save the man. According to reports, the tourist suffered minor injuries in the attack. The incident has raised serious concerns about wildlife safety and tourism ethics in places like Tiger Kingdom Phuket, which is described on Tripadvisor as "a once in a lifetime experience where you can meet, play, and have your photo taken with tigers." Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, a rescue centre for elephants, monkeys and jungle cats, called for an end on big cat exploitation, saying: "This cruelty must end. For their safety - and ours." A person wrote on X, "Cats generally do not like being petted on the lower (back) body especially near butts. This man was petting the tiger continuously near above mentioned body area which must have frustrated the tiger. Final straw was when the man cupped it for a photo." Another said, "Been there. It's Tiger Kingdom in Phuket. They sedate the tigers just enough that they don't have the will to attack. Always feared this could happen." Someone else added: "Hopefully this forces the authorities to crack down on these places. It's plain cruelty." One more said: "What is meant to be wild should stay in the wild." Animal welfare organisations advise against visiting places such as tiger entertainment venues, which are common in South-East Asia, particularly Thailand, due to concerns about conservation and animal cruelty. The Environmental Investigation Agency said in a post on its website: "The simplest advice we can give you is if an establishment offers direct tourist interactions with captive animals (selfies, hugging, feeding) and/or promotes tigers engaging in unnatural behaviours (e.g. tricks or performances) then do not visit. "By not spending your money in tiger entertainment venues you will reduce the profitability of the tiger entertainment industry and help end these cruel practices for good." It also said cubs are often separated from their mothers within weeks of being born so that they can be hand-raised and bottle-fed by tourist. It added: "This is extremely stressful for both cubs and mothers, particularly if you consider that, in the wild, they would stay together for a couple of years. Furthermore, tigers are often confined to small, barren enclosures or cages resulting in significant physical and psychological distress, especially considering that tigers in the wild can roam many kilometres in a single night! Frequent handling and visitor contact in loud environments causes the animals further stress and, in order to perform for tourists, tigers are subjected to cruel training regimes." In December 2024, a zookeeper who had worked with tigers for years was mauled to death when he stepped inside the big cat enclosure at the Pitești Zoo. And in September 2024, a tiger mauled an animal handler at Dreamworld, in Queensland's Gold Coast, with the victim suffering "some serious lacerations and puncture wounds".
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A tiger on a gurney? Peek inside Thailand's wild animal hospital
Lantao is on the road to recovery. The little long-tailed macaque had an open fracture in her right arm and was severely traumatized when found on the Thai island of Ko Lanta. At the time of her rescue, the baby monkey was blind in one eye and also severely malnourished. But Lantao had a stroke of luck: volunteers took her to the Wildlife Hospital of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) in the province of Phetchaburi, roughly a two-hour drive south of Bangkok. What happened to the baby monkey will probably never be fully explained. "We can only assume that Lantao was attacked - possibly by dogs or other macaques," says veterinarian Dr. Kwan. When the hospital opened its doors in March 2005, it was the first facility of its kind in Thailand. Nearly 20 years later, it remains one of the few such centres in the country and is widely regarded as the most respected. When an injured wild animal is found, WFFT is usually the first port of call. Gibbons and pangolins as patients Patients range from tigers and leopards to sun bears, pangolins, gibbons, otters, crocodiles and colourful hornbills. The elephants have had their own adjoining hospital since 2015. WFFT was founded in 2001 by Dutchman Edwin Wiek. The man is something of a legend in Thailand and is regarded as a fearless animal rights activist who has defied all odds over the years. A book has been written about his unusual life, "A Wild Life - The Edwin Wiek Story." His non-governmental organization provides sanctuary to countless species, offering them a second chance at life in spacious enclosures. Many of these animals were previously exploited by the tourism industry, forced into breeding at illegal farms or kept as pets in cramped, unsuitable cages. Many are sick or weakened or have open wounds when they arrive here - which is why a hospital was built just a few years after the foundation was set up, equipped with an X-ray room and a fully equipped operating theatre. Wiek often spends years negotiating with authorities and owners to rescue helpless animals from horrific living conditions. As was the case in 2016 with Joe, a southern pig-tailed macaque, whose mother was killed by poachers in 1988. "I've seen a lot of animal suffering, but what Joe experienced is one of the most horrific things I've come across," says the 59-year-old. Joe was locked in a tiny cage between two houses and languished there for 25 years amongst rubbish and excrement. Wiek speaks of a "hellhole." Apart from rats, Joe hardly had any visitors - for social animals like monkeys, this is almost unbearable. "I kept thinking about everything I've experienced in those 25 years - and Joe was always just sitting in that cage, during all this time." Wiek has lived in his adopted country of Thailand since the late 1980s and speaks the language perfectly. This helps enormously in the complicated rescue operations - and also in driving change in a country where animals are often treated more as a source of income and less as sentient being. Wiek is the only foreigner authorized to advise the government on animal welfare issues. Tiger cuddling as a tourist attraction When Phuket Zoo had to close its doors during the coronavirus pandemic, WFFT rescued 11 tigers as well as an Asiatic black bear and a sun bear from concrete cages that were far too small. The campaign made headlines across the country. In 2023, WFFT took in 12 tigers and three leopards from an illegal breeding farm. Cuddling with drugged tigers is a popular tourist attraction in Thailand. "We believe that most of these tigers have felt grass beneath their paws and sunlight on their fur for the first time after they arrived at their new sanctuary home," says a WFFT employee. It is a similar story for many of the animals that are being allowed to move around freely for the first time - especially the almost two dozen elephants that are currently being cared for. Almost all of them have been beaten, chastised and tortured with metal hooks by their mahouts (elephant handlers) in order to transport tourists on their backs without resistance. One cow elephant rescued by WFFT has a clearly visible abscess on her leg due to years of violence. The would is regularly treated at the Wildlife Hospital. The organization runs the I Love Phants lodge for visitors, including magnificent views of the landscape and a pool with a view of elephants. Nearby, gibbons swing through the trees. Apart from the many rescued street dogs and cats, tourists are not allowed to get too close to the other animals - they are meant to live as wildly as possible. Meanwhile, Dr Kwan and her colleagues face new challenges every day. Helmeted cassowary Bernie, with his bright blue and red neck, was probably smuggled into the country from Papua New Guinea. He was severely injured in the head when he was brought in. Today, the flightless bird is doing well, but still needs specialized care. Python with constipation Whether tigers with a toothache, heavily pregnant gibbons in need of a caesarean section or neutering operations for bear macaques or monkeys that have suffered electric shocks while climbing - they are all treated at the Wildlife Hospital. "We recently even had a python with constipation that we were able to help," says Dr Kwan. Sadly, amputations of severely injured body parts are also part of everyday life. The WFFT is currently building a new, much larger wildlife hospital for Thailand's animals. When it opens in May, it will also be able to perform state-of-the-art surgical procedures using endoscopy, for example. In future, this will also be able to help patients with complicated injuries - like little Lantao.
