A male Sumatran elephant killed its keeper on Friday morning in Bali when the man entered its enclosure to feed the animal.
I Nyoman Levi Suwitha, 60, also known as Mangku Levi, had been the owner of Bakas Levi Rafting, an elephant park and adventure tour company based in Bali’s Klungkung regency. The company is known for offering elephant rides through the jungle, along with rafting trips.
Levi had just entered the elephant’s enclosure to feed it when the elephant suddenly wrapped its trunk around his body and threw him as far as 12 meters, according to a report by Detik.
Staff on duty immediately moved to evacuate Levi. The man was rushed to Klungkung General Hospital, but was pronounced dead upon arrival. His body was later sent to the morgue at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.
Medical examiners found a gash on Levi’s head, running about five centimeters long with a width of three centimeters and a depth of two centimeters. His chest also had a three-centimeter long wound, which is believed to have caused his death.
The victim’s family, along with management from the tour company, apparently denied that the death was caused by an elephant, saying that Levi’s death resulted from heart disease and fatigue. However, reports coming out of the hospital, as well as Banjarangkan district police, confirmed that Levi died from the elephant’s rampage.
“The family refused to have an autopsy performed,” Banjarangkan Police Chief Ni Luh Wirati told reporters.
“We’ve made a crime scene. It was a pure accident,” Wirati said.
There are currently eight elephants at Bakas Levi Rafting. Levi would feed them every day and had a way with the elephants, said Nyoman Merta, from the company’s management.
“For 20 years I worked with (Levi). He really loved animals and was always good at quickly adapting. I salute him, he was really the only local entrepreneur to care about animals,” Merta said.
