A female elephant entertaining tourists in Pattaya died on Saturday after becoming sick from the shock of New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Fifty-year-old Samruai, who worked at the Sanctuary of Truth, started showing signs of sickness a month ago.
After someone sought help from animal charity Fund for Animal, she was discovered by voluntary veterinarians in a coma.
Her mahout, only identified as Suriya, said he and his wife brought Samruai from Surin several years ago to work in Pattaya and earn money from giving rides to tourists.
But the elephant started showing signs of sickness after she was spooked by the fireworks on Dec. 31. At one point, she fell over and was unable to get up.
Samruai was immediately given saline water and antibiotics as officials planned to move her to a facility in Surin province for treatment.
But the elephant tragically died that night.
The mahout Suriya and his wife had a funeral for Samruai at Bang Lamung Temple where she was buried.
Four Buddhist monks said prayers to the dead elephant as the couple were grieving the death of their elephant and were deciding if they would stay in Pattaya or go back to their hometown, Daily News reported.
