Blanca Ojanguren Garcia was a law student at the University of Navarra (Spain) and was on a study trip to Taiwan for six months. The young woman had gone to Thailand with her partner for a few days.
The tragedy took place under the eyes of her boyfriend and around twenty other people present near the pool at the time. While bathing a pachyderm at the Koh Yao elephant care center (southwest of Thailand), Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, aged 22, was attacked by the animal, report Sky News and the Spanish newspaper The Country.
Pierced by one of her tusks while she was washing the elephant, the final year law and international relations student at the University of Navarra (Spain) died.
Overtourism to blame?
On social networks, those close to Blanca Ojanguren Garcia and her former school expressed their sadness upon learning of the accidental and violent death of the young woman.
The animal in question would have suffered from significant “stress”, specifies Sky News. Stress mainly due to the daily abundance of tourists in the region and the obligation to interact with them.
Note that elephant baths are a particularly popular “attraction” in Thailand and regularly singled out by organizations or associations for the protection and preservation of wild animals.
According to recent estimates from the Department of National Parks of Thailand, recalls the Spanish press, 4,000 wild animals live in centers like that of Koh Yao. It sometimes happens that these animals perform shows for the entertainment of tourists.
How can France fight against “overtourism”?
In 2024, adds Sky News, 39 people will have lost their lives attacked by pachyderms.
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