Video shows horrifying moment elephant nearly flings tourists into the air: 'This should be illegal'

Elephants are known for being intelligent, gentle, and sensitive animals, which makes it that much harder to see them used for entertainment. 

One person shared a video on TikTok showing yet another reason these wild animals should be left to their own devices. 

@badtouristtales Bad tourist 🤬 Elephants are known for their intelligence and emotional depth, and they should be admired in the wild, not as tourists' attractions. 🎥 @bike_phuket24 #thailand #elephants #animalrights #badtourist ♬ original sound - Bad Tourist

TikTok user Bad Tourist (@badtouristtales) shared a video of tourists at what appeared to be a resort at Lucky Beach in Phuket, Thailand, sitting on the backs of elephants in the ocean. 

However, one elephant became frightened when leaving the water and nearly tossed their passenger off.

Bad Tourist wrote, "Elephants are known for their intelligence and emotional depth, and they should be admired in the wild, not as tourists' attractions."

While getting to admire an elephant up close is a tempting idea, riding one can not only endanger human lives, like the passenger in the video, but also elephant lives. Oftentimes, when wildlife injures a human, whether the person provoked the animal or not, the animals are euthanized as a result.

According to Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, many other ethical arguments exist about why people should not ride elephants.

The first is the brutal and inhumane training elephants go through to become passenger-carrying animals. The process involves separating juvenile elephants from their mothers and then subjecting them to harsh psychological and physical conditions in order to break them.

These elephants are also kept in confined spaces, apart from their natural habitats and social structures, which can lead to stress and aggression.

Riding an elephant doesn't only put it at risk of euthanization if an accident occurs, either. Despite what the tourist industry tells people, humans on the back of elephants can cause long-term spinal damage to the animals and lead to conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Do you think people should be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets? Yes 👍 No 👎 It depends on the animal 🐍 It depends on the person 🤓 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Plus, considering the IUCN Red List has elephants listed as endangered, humans utilizing them for entertainment, such as tourist attractions, is likely contributing to the animal's decreased population.

TikTok users agreed with Bad Tourist's sentiment that wild animals should remain in the wild and didn't offer much sympathy for the elephant's passenger.

One TikToker commented, " Elephants are not carnival rides shame on them," while another said, "These intelligent creatures are not here for our entertainment."

One user simply stated, "This should be illegal."

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