Woman Says Her Arm Was Crushed in Elephant's Mouth on Vacation

A New Hampshire woman has said her arm was crushed by an elephant while she was on vacation and posing for photos with the animal.

Beth Bogar had been staying at Mason Elephant Park & Lodge in Bali, Indonesia, at the time of the incident last week, New Hampshire media service News 9 reported. Bogar had just finished riding on the elephant's back and swimming with it when she put her arm under its trunk to pose for a photo. Bogar told News 9 that the elephant's trainer had suggested this.

That was when her arm became stuck in the elephant's mouth, Bogar said. "I couldn't get my arm out. I could just hear cracking and I just started to panic," she told News 9. The park has said that the elephant did not bite her, and that her injuries were caused by its trunk.

Elephants are usually very gentle creatures but, as they are wild animals, they can still cause injuries to humans in certain situations. They only usually injure people by mistake, or when they become provoked or distressed.

After the elephant let go of her arm, it continued to swell for several hours. Bogar then had to be rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

While riding the elephant, Bogar said her trainer told her he had been with the animal for 24 years. "He knew this elephant. I just feel as though he was guiding me and he let my arm get too close to his mouth—and I didn't know how close too close was," Bogar told the news outlet.

Mason Elephant Park & Lodge specializes in close encounters with elephants. The animals at the park are rescued Sumatrans. Bogar chose the resort specifically for that reason, News 9 reported. "It was a vacation that I was dreaming about," she said.

Park founder Nigel Mason told Newsweek in an email: "In our many years since the founding [of] the Mason Elephant Park in 1997 when we rescued the first critically-endangered Sumatran elephants from the deforestation death camps in Sumatra, we've never once had an incident like this occur."

Although Bogar was quoted as saying her arm had entered the elephant's mouth, Mason said this did not happen.

"We would like to emphasize that Mrs. Bogar was not bitten by an elephant. Instead, her arm was accidentally broken when the elephant's trunk came down on it suddenly as she was up very close and hugging the elephant with her arm outstretched over its tusks," Mason said. "It's also worth noting that insurance payment had been approved for them as was the extra payment from our company to help cover the high cost of the operation, (which we were not obliged to do)."

Mason said Bogar and her guest at the park received VIP treatment after the incident, and they were personally taken to the Klinic Kenak Medika Hospital for the operation.

"Mrs. Bogar was shown the highest priority service and sympathy throughout the whole unfortunate event. At the time they seemed extremely happy with that service," Mason said. "I cannot stress enough that our team did all that it could to help comfort and compensate Mrs. Bogar and give her all the sympathy and help that we could for the very unfortunate freak accident which occurred."

Elephants do not usually bite humans and while they are herbivores, they do have long sharp teeth on either side of their mouth, which are effective for breaking down tough vegetation.

Bogar said she received $4,800 from the resort to help cover her medical fees. Her surgery came to around $10,000, News 9 reported.

In a statement shared with the news outlet, Mason Elephant Park & Lodge said the elephant that had injured Bogar's arm has a "gentle soul."

Bogar said she was aware of the risks and did not blame the elephant.

"Just think twice before you add something like this to your itinerary, because in a split second, your entire trip can really be changed, and not just your trip, but your entire life," she told News 9.

Update 5/11/2023, 10:24 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement sent to Newsweek by the elephant park.

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