US returns smuggled ancient Indian statues during Modi visit

The US is to return 297 antiquities spanning thousands of years, which were either stolen or trafficked from India.

The artefacts, which date from 2000BC to 1900AD, were showcased in a symbolic handover ceremony attended by both Mr Modi and US president Joe Biden during the Indian leader’s visit to the US.

These 297 artefacts will soon be repatriated to India, the Indian government said.

This return is part of a broader effort by India to recover its stolen cultural heritage. Several countries, including the UK and Australia, have returned artefacts to India in recent years.

The US has returned artefacts to India several times in recent years, including 157 in 2021 and 105 in 2023.

With this latest batch, the total number of such items now stands at 578, the highest number returned by any single country.

During the ceremony, Mr Modi expressed gratitude to Mr Biden, emphasising the cultural and civilisational importance of the artefacts.

“These objects are not just part of India’s historical material culture, but form the inner core of its civilisation and consciousness,” he said.

Among the returned items are pieces such as a 10th-11th century sandstone apsara from central India, a third-fourth century terracotta vase from eastern India, and an anthropomorphic copper figure from northern India dating back to 2000-1800BC.

Most of the artefacts are terracotta works from eastern India, though the collection also includes pieces made from stone, metal, wood, and ivory.

The restitution of these cultural properties is framed within the Cultural Property Agreement signed between India and the US, which mandates cooperation to intercept and return smuggled artefacts.

Many of the artefacts included in this collection were traced to India following an investigation led by The Indian Express in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

This investigation identified stolen pieces held by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, many of which were linked to infamous antique dealer Subhash Kapoor, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for smuggling antiquities. The museum later announced that it would return 15 sculptures after it learnt that the items were trafficked.

Trafficking of cultural property has been a significant global issue, affecting many countries and cultures throughout history.

India, in particular, has been severely affected, with thousands of artefacts stolen over the years, many of which have found their way into international museums and private collections.

Indigenous rangers find population of extremely rare Australian bird

Australia’s Indigenous rangers have helped discover a previously unknown population of the night parrot – one of the rarest birds in the continent thought to have been extinct for over a century.

A small population of the elusive yellowish-green parrots was only found in 2013, and until now only tens of the bird species were thought to exist.

However, a new study, published in the journal CSIRO Wildlife Research, revealed that as many as 50 critically endangered night parrots could be living in the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in western Australia’s far east.

This could make it the largest known population of the extremely rare bird in the world.

“The endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the rarest birds in Australia, with fewer than 20 known to occur in Queensland and, prior to 2020, only occasional detections from a handful of sites in Western Australia,” scientists wrote.

In the study, researchers used a type of acoustic recorder called a songmeter and found evidence of night parrots at 17 of the 31 sites they checked on the Ngururrpa IPA.

Overall, they identified ten roosting areas.

The “highly secretive” species is predominantly terrestrial, mostly nocturnal, and takes to the air only when panicked or in search of water, according to researchers.

Based on the survey, scientists say there could be “at least 50 night parrots” on the Ngururrpa IPA, making it the largest known population of the highly elusive species in the world.

Satelite images suggest that a key threat to the birds’ habitat is fire which occurs in the surrounding sandplain country every 6 or 10 years.

“The surrounding landscapes differ in their vegetation types and inherent flammability, indicating that fire is likely to be a more significant threat to night parrots,” researchers wrote.

Scientists also used camera traps to survey predators and collected predator scats to analyse their diets.

While feral cats in the region could be a threat to the night parrots, scientists say dingo wild dogs which eat the cats in this area, could be helping the birds survive.

The study highlights the need for any predator control methods in the area to avoid harming the dingoes.

“We recommend management that focuses on strategic burning to reduce fuel loads in the surrounding landscape, and limiting predator control to methods that do not harm dingoes,” researchers said.

Iran coal mine blast caused by methane leak kills 51 and injures 20

At least 51 people died and 20 were injured in a coal mine blast triggered by a gas explosion in South Khorasan province in Iran, state media reported on Sunday.

The accident occurred at around 9pm local time on Saturday, the IRNA news agency said.

The explosion was reportedly caused by a methane gas leak in blocks B and C of the mine, which is run by the Madanjoo company. The mine is located in Tabas, around 540km (336 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran.

“About 76 per cent of the country’s coal is provided from this region, and eight to 10 big companies are working in the region, including Madanjoo company,” South Khorasan governor Ali Akbar Rahimi told state TV, according to reporters.

The rescue operation in block B had been completed, Mr Rahimi said earlier, while emergency personnel were still at work in block C. Methane density in the block was high and the operation would take three to four hours, he said.

Several workers were still missing and feared trapped in the mine, state TV reported, quoting the head of Iran’s Red Crescent.

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said efforts were underway to rescue the trapped workers and aid their families, as he prepared to leave for New York to attend the forthcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“I spoke with ministers and we will do our best to follow up,” he said in televised comments. An investigation into the explosion had begun, the president added.

This is far from the first disaster to strike Iran’s mining industry. At least 42 people were killed in a coal mine blast in 2017, and 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents in 2013.

In the past, reports cited lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining regions as the primary factors in these incidents.

Iran is rich in a variety of minerals. It consumes some 3.5 million tonnes of coal annually, but only extracts about 1.8 million tonnes from its mines. The rest is imported and mostly consumed by the country’s steel mills.

Nine fishermen feared dead after boat capsizes off India’s east coast

At least nine Indian fishermen were feared dead in the Bay of Bengal after their trawler was hit by a storm.

The tragedy struck near Bagher Char island on Saturday morning when the trawler, with 17 men on board, capsized, said Surajit Bag, assistant director of fishing in the eastern Indian state West Bengal.

The boat ventured into an area hit by a storm and was overwhelmed by high waves, Mr Bag told AFP news agency.

The fishermen had left the Sunderbans in West Bengal on Wednesday. Eight of the 17 men were on the deck while nine were sleeping in the cabin below when the boat ran into the heavy storm, Mr Bag said.

The eight fishermen on the deck were thrown overboard and found by a rescue boat and brought ashore, he added. The nine sleeping men could not be located despite an extensive search by the rescue team and were feared to be dead.

An Indian Coast Guard vessel towed the damaged boat and the survivors back to the shore, Mr Bag told AFP, adding that they were in a stable condition.

It was the second such incident in less than two months in the Bay of Bengal where the annual monsoon sets off bad weather and brings heavy storms and rough seas in the coastal region.

Fourteen fishermen were rescued from the sea last month after their fishing trawler entered stormy waters and capsized. That incident also took place near the Bagher Char island.

India’s weather department had issued a warning for fishermen last month, asking them to avoid going deep into the sea as winds were expected to hit 40-50 km per hour.

China zoo admits that their pandas are ‘painted dogs’

A Chinese zoo has admitted that the pandas in their exhibits were, in fact, “painted dogs.”

According to the New York Post, visitors at the Shanwei Zoo realized they were being bamboozled when the so-called pandas began panting and barking. Pandas are native to China and an international symbol of the country.

In one visitor’s video, one of the “pandas” was visibly panting while resting on a rock in a fence, while another clip had a panda with a long tail strolling about.

“It’s a PANdog,” one viewer wrote, while someone else joked: “That’s the Temu version of a panda.”

“They were panting that’s why they are pandas,” a third noted.

After visitors publicized the ruse on social media, the organizers admitted they’d painted two Chow Chows — a fluffy dog breed originally from northern China — with black-and-white panda markings. Since then, visitors have demanded their money back for false advertising.

This isn’t the first time a Chinese zoo has misled visitors with claims of housing real pandas.

In May, NBC Newsreported that Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province had also painted Chow Chows. Zoo representatives initially claimed that the animals were a rare breed of “panda dogs,” before admitting that such animals don’t exist. At the time, zoo officials told Chinese state media they had advertised them as “panda dogs,” and did not intentionally mislead anyone.

When journalists asked them why they invented the idea of “panda dogs” to cover their tracks, a zoo representative explained, “There are no panda bears at the zoo, and we wanted to do this as a result.”

At the time, state media and the general public criticized the zoo for also mistreating the dogs.

“It is not funny at all to dye Chow Chow dogs to attract tourists,” one commenter wrote on the social media platform Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of X, formerly Twitter. “Their fragile skin and naturally thick coats make them susceptible to skin diseases.”

However, officials defended their choice to paint the dogs, noting they weren’t harmed by the dye, and argued that if humans could do it, so could dogs.

“Normal people dye their hair,” a representative told Qilu Evening News. “Dogs can dye their hair, too. It’s the same as hair.”

From a dog cafe in the southwestern province of Sichuan dyeing six Chow Chows to look like panda bears in 2019 to a woman of the same province walking a “panda dog” in a viral video in 2020, it doesn’t seem like this zoo practice is a fluke.

Why Modi is trying to change the way India votes

India’s government is pushing ahead with contentious plans to fundamentally alter the way the country votes by holding simultaneous elections to state assemblies and national parliament.

Narendra Modi’s cabinet says it plans to proceed with the so-called “One Nation, One Election” proposal, which would end the system of staggered state and general elections and require all votes, including for municipalities and village councils, to take place within a 100-day period once every five years.

The idea has long been a manifesto item for Modi’s ruling BJP, and on his Independence Day speech on 15 August this year the prime minister once again touted the proposal, saying non-stop elections were slowing down the country’s economic development.

But opposition politicians have raised concerns about what they describe as a trend of the Modi years – “centralising” power away from the states, plenty of which are not ruled by the BJP, and into the hands of the federal government and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Critics also question whether there is an existing problem with staggering state elections, and the opposition Congress party says it doubts whether any real savings would be made by changing the system. Some suggest it represents a stunt to rejuvenate Modi’s support base after a weak performance in June’s general election, where the ruling BJP lost its outright majority.

Compiled by a committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind and featuring top Modi aides including home minister Amit Shah, a 18,626-page report on One Nation, One Election was “accepted” by the Cabinet this week. It came after what the government described as an extensive, 191-day consultation process involving stakeholders and experts, which began on 2 September 2023.

A bill on the proposal is expected to be tabled in the winter session of parliament and aims to streamline the electoral process, reduce the frequency of elections, and “optimise scarce resources”, the panel said.

The panel argued that this proposal will bring stability and convenience to voters, while also reducing the financial burden of conducting multiple elections as it will “avoid disruption of supply chains and production cycles due to migrant workers seeking leave of absence to cast their votes”. Modi unsurprisingly welcomed the proposal, saying it would make India’s democracy “even more vibrant and participative”.

The change would be implemented by the president of the country issuing a notification on the same day as the first sitting of a newly constituted Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), triggering the transition process. This date would be known as the “appointed date”.

Under the proposed amendments, all state assemblies formed after this appointed date would be dissolved at the end of the Lok Sabha’s full term, regardless of whether they had completed their five-year term or not. This move aims to align the election cycles of the national and state governments.

The BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) faces significant hurdles as the implementation hinges on securing a two-thirds majority in parliament, necessitating amendments to the constitution.Though it has a simple majority in both Houses, the ruling alliance falls short of the required two-thirds mark by 52 votes in the upper house or Rajya Sabha and 72 in the Lok Sabha. Additionally, ratification from all states and federal territories is mandatory.

Given the BJP’s lack of majority in the Lok Sabha, they’ll need to collaborate with not just their coalition partners from the National Democratic Alliance but also opposition parties to push this through. The Janata Dal (United), a key NDA constituent, has already welcomed the cabinet’s decision.

But the proposal so far has faced stiff opposition, including from the main opposition Congress party. Mallikarjun Kharge, the chief of Congress, has strongly criticised the plan, labeling it “not pragmatic and practical”. He called it a mere distraction, and an attempt to divert the public’s attention from more pressing issues. Kharge said he was confident the proposal wouldn’t succeed as “the people will not accept it”.

Other opposition parties have also expressed strong reservations. In March, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party from Tamil Nadu pledged to scrap the proposal if the opposition INDIA alliance wins the election. Similarly, Mamata Banerjee, the leader of Trinamool Congress and chief minister of West Bengal, condemned the proposal, calling it an attempt to undermine India’s constitutional framework and promote autocracy under the guise of democracy.

The Independent has reached out to the BJP for comment.

Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, argues that the “main motivation” behind the panel’s proposal is “financial”.

“The idea is that by holding fewer elections, you incur fewer costs,” he told The Independent. “Elections are not cheap in India with such a large voter base. So the more elections you have, the more you need to spend money on security, poll workers. So, I think there is whole pragmatic motivation.”

Simultaneous elections aren’t a new concept in India, which held votes in this manner from 1951 to 1967. The peak was reached in 1967, when elections in 20 states coincided with the national elections for the lower house of parliament. This synchronised election trend continued in subsequent years, albeit with fewer states participating. For instance, in 1977, 17 states held simultaneous elections, while in 1980 and 1985, the number dropped to 14 states.

The polling schedule started to become more dispersed due to various factors, one of the main reasons being mid-term elections. Other factors that may have contributed to this dispersal included resignations or deaths of incumbents, and election irregularities leading to repolls.

The nine-member government panel also said it found that real GDP growth was higher when simultaneous polls were held, compared to a decrease when they were not.

Kugelman suggests that with the syncronisation of elections, the process is likely to become more “efficient”. “The idea of the proposal is that it becomes more predictable and easy. Given the risk of electoral violence and violence around elections, the idea is, if you do them in a way that they are happening less frequently, and on a more orderly basis, there is simply going to be a lower risk,” he said.

Professor Apoorvanand Jha argues that the proposal threatens India’s federal structure by promoting a unitary concept of the country. “The spirit of federalism is diversity and diversity in all matters and matters of time, being, composition, in matter of nature of state and the tendency of Modi is to centralise everything,” he says.

Jha says the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the right wing Hindu nationalist BJP, views India as a “unitary country” where states would ideally disappear or be heavily monitored by the central government. This is already happening, he claims, with “governors acting as agents of the union, resembling viceroys rather than representatives of state interests”.

Explaining the impact of simultaneous elections on India’s federal structure, Saral Patel, a member of the publicity committee of the Congress, says the change would likely reduce the focus during election campaigns on local issues compared to the national agenda.

“It poses a long term risk by concentrating power in the centre,” he says. “Because currently each and every state is governed by their whole election schedule and are held accountable in their own right. Whereas if it is combined with the union elections, the larger political compulsions will take precedence over the local issues.”

When Modi won the general election for the first time in 2014, he explains “there was this euphoria, that Modi is invincible, Modi is god and that continued until 2024 [in the general election]”.

However, less than a year later, in 2015 Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party swept 67 of the 70 seats in Delhi, while BJP managed only three assembly seats. “That put the fear of elections into Mr Modi’s heart,” he says. “If national elections were happening together, this sentiment would have been overtaken by the love for Mr Modi,” he says.

He says having state assembly and national elections at different times allows the electorate to hold government accountable based on “different level of governance”.

“And that, that sort of grounds any politician in taking pro-people decision,” Patel says. “And no level should overtake or precede the accountability of the other level. In One Nation, One Election- kind of a scenario, this sentiment would not be there.”

The timing of the proposal in Modi’s third term, rather than his first or second, is a strategic move, says Jha.

He believes Modi’s approach was to periodically create shock and momentum by bringing “forward something which is then touted as a big [and] transformative idea”. This tactic, he says, helps him maintain momentum and prevents exhaustion of all initiatives at once.

He cites examples like the overnight demonetisation of high currency Indian notes, the building of the controversial Ram Temple, and the removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status as previous instances of this strategy.

Jha also questions the panel’s claim that elections cause disruption to supply chains and production cycles, as migrant workers seek “leave of absence to cast their votes”.

“Everything keeps running, offices are open, factories are open, nothing is closed,” he says, adding that “farmers are not involved in the election campaign. During the election campaign, there’s only the prime minister who doesn’t work. He keeps touring and campaigning. That is all he does. But others keep working.”

Japan orders mass evacuation as heavy rain lashes quake-hit region

At least one person was killed and tens of thousands of people were evacuated in central Japan as record rainfall lashed the Noto peninsula, which had barely recovered from a devastating earthquake, authorities said on Saturday.

The situation worsened after at least 12 swollen rivers breached their banks on Saturday and burst into city streets in Ishikawa prefecture, land ministry official Masaru Kojima said.

At least one person was killed, two were injured and three were missing in Ishikawa, the regional government said. Two of the missing persons were carried away in the strong river currents, local media reported.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Wajima city in Ishikawa received a record 318.5mm of rainfall from Friday evening through Saturday noon, including 121mm on Saturday morning alone, prompting officials to order the evacuation of around 45,000 residents.

The agency had issued the highest level of heavy rainfall alert in Ishikawa prefecture, including Wajima city.

The neighbouring city of Suzu saw 84.5mm rainfall in an hour on Saturday morning and 226mm in total from Friday evening, a record for the region.

Japanese TV channels showed floodwaters gushing into Wajima’s streets, transforming them into rivers and submerging cars in their way.

The rain also triggered landslides in the region, which was already reeling from the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that struck in January and left more than 370 people dead, damaged public infrastructure, and disrupted local industry and economy.

The weather agency predicted up to 20cm of rainfall in Ishikawa within the next 24 hours. Nearby northern prefectures of Niigata and Yamagata were also warned of the threat of flooding after heavy rain.

“Heavy rain is hitting the region that was badly damaged by the Noto earthquake, and I believe many people are feeling very uneasy,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Mr Hayashi said the government “put people’s lives first” and its priority was conducting search and rescue operations.

He called on people in the affected areas to pay close attention to the latest weather and evacuation advisories and take precautions, adding that the military had been dispatched to Ishikawa to help with rescue work.

Moo Deng: Why is the internet obsessed with a viral baby hippo?

A playful and pudgy baby hippopotamus in Thailand who loves splashing about in water and enjoys belly rubs from her keeper has captivated the internet and left the zoo housing her struggling to manage large crowds jostling to see the latest global celebrity.

Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, which started posting videos and photos online of Moo Deng, the two-month-old pygmy hippo, is now capitalising on her popularity.

Moo Deng became a meme-worthy internet sensation after zookeeper Atthapon Nundee posted her videos of bathing, playfully biting, and sleeping. Her snot bubbles have a separate fan base.

Because of the popularity of the hippo, whose name translates to “bouncy pork”, the zoo saw a boosted attendance over the past weekend. It drew more than 10,000 visitors, up from around the usual 3,000. Moo’s cuteness has also led to plans for a 24/7 livestream, though it is not yet up and running.

But her popularity has not come without problems. It has been reported that some visitors to the zoo are throwing water and other objects at the baby hippo to get her to react. The zoo’s director has now threatened legal action against misbehaving visitors.

Due to overcrowdeding, interactions with Moo Deng will now be limited to weekends, with each viewing lasting only five minutes, The Bangkok Post reported. Group sizes will be capped at 30 to 50 people to better manage crowds, according to zoo authorities.

Moo’s fame has also brought the spotlight back on past allegations of cruelty at crowded animal shows in Thai zoos amid a post-Covid tourism boost.

Moo Deng was born almost two months ago at the zoo in Chonburi. Only a month after her birth, her videos exploded on TikTok and social media quickly became obsessed.

Vulture wrote: “She has little teeny, tiny baby chompers, she’s perpetually wet, and her name means bouncy pork. It’s the ultimate recipe for internet cuteness.”

She is the Pookie of the moment.

The Associated Press described Moo Deng as having “the kind of face that launches a thousand memes”. Moo Deng in Thai is a type of meatball. It was reported that the name was chosen by fans through a social media poll, keeping in theme with her siblings: Moo Toon (stewed pork) and Moo Waan (sweet pork). The zoo also has a common hippo named Kha Moo (stewed pork leg).

“She’s such a little lump. I want to ball her up and swallow her whole!” a Moo Deng fan Areeya Sripanya told AP on Thursday.

The cosmetic brand Sephora, in its advertising for blush products in Thailand, claims to offer Moo Deng’s “pink & peachy tone” cheeks.

A bakery in Bangkok announced on Facebook that it had to limit orders for its Moo Deng-inspired cakes due to overwhelming demand.

The Thai Embassy in Tokyo shared photos of Moo Deng on X and encouraged visitors to the zoo.

Moo Deng even made it to Time magazine. “She is an icon. She is a legend. She is the moment”, read the headline on a piece about her.

According to the zoo, Moo Deng’s mother, Jona, is 25 years old, and her father, Tony, is 24. She is their seventh baby born at the zoo.

Artists have created cartoons, cakes, and latte art inspired by her, and her image has even appeared in posts from the official account on social media platform X. She’s been featured in memes by teams like Germany’s FC Bayern, the Phoenix Suns, the Washington Commanders, and the New York Mets, often with simple photo edits placing her in various hats or human-like scenarios.

Given her rising fame, the zoo director Narongwit Chodchoi announced that they are in the process of copyrighting and trademarking “Moo Deng the hippo” to prevent unauthorised commercialisation.

“After we do this, we will have more income to support activities that will make the animals’ lives better,” he told the Associated Press.

A TikTok video featuring Moo Deng’s caretaker playing with her has gone viral, amassing over 33 million views and more than 2 million likes.

Comments express delight, with one noting that the baby hippo “looks like he (sic) was just hatched”. Other videos of Moo Deng, including one of her mimicking her mother munching on veggies (Moo is still on a milk diet), have also garnered millions of views on TikTok and X.

“The moment I saw Moo-Deng born, I set a goal to make her famous, but I never expected it would spread abroad. I thought she could be famous in Thailand but not internationally,” Nundee, the caretaker who has worked at the zoo for eight years, told The Guardian.

Moo Deng is reportedly having a 24*7 live stream set up for her fans to enjoy her antics without having to visit the zoo where footfalls have increased – thanks to Moo Deng.

Moo Deng’s fame has attracted some overly enthusiastic visitors to the zoo. She typically wakes up to play for just two hours a day, but some videos have shown people splashing water or tossing objects to rouse her from sleep.

In response, the zoo has placed a warning sign at the hippo pit, prominently displayed in Thai, English, and Chinese, advising against throwing things at Moo Deng.

“These behaviours are not only cruel but also dangerous,” zoo director Chodchoi told reporters. “We must protect these animals and ensure that they have a safe and comfortable environment.”

To tackle these concerns, the zoo has now set up security cameras in Moo Deng’s habitat and alerted visitors about potential legal consequences for any rule violations.

The pygmy hippo is an endangered species, with only 2,000-2,500 adults left, according to the IUCN. Their numbers are decreasing due to hunting for bushmeat and habitat destruction, reports note.

Smaller than common hippos, they are mainly found in West African countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast.

Moo Deng’s time in the spotlight is being used by the zoo to highlight the plight of the species. “I hope that the cuteness of Moo-Deng will raise awareness for people to come and learn about [the species],” Nundee was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

An adult pygmy hippo can live up to 50 years and can grow to about half the height of a full-sized hippo. In the wild, their diet mainly consists of grass, leaves, shoots, and fallen fruits.

The Washington Post pointed out that research indicates especially cute animals possess “baby schema” traits – physical features resembling those of infants – that activate our instinct to care for them.

It noted that Moo Deng’s large eyes and adorable skin rolls evoke our nurturing instincts, even though she’s a pygmy hippo.

“When we see these infantile features – those big eyes, large foreheads, small chins, and pudgy bodies – we interpret that as helplessness and as dependency, and it motivates us to care for them,” Daniel Kruger, a research scientist in evolutionary psychology at the University of Michigan and the State University of New York at Buffalo, was quoted as saying.

“That little rolly-polly face is wonderfully squishable. She is often seen screeching and bouncing around like a tusked Roomba. Moo Deng is, effectively, an exotic, somewhat slimy English bulldog. What is there not to love about that?” gushed a Mashable piece.

“We get to anthropomorphise a personality unto them as a collective. We see open-mouthed, blurry snaps of Moo Deng, and we get to make her a mischievous, cherubic little character. In the absence of, you know, animals being able to express themselves, we do it for them. It’s sort of what we do with our own pets. Together, we make an adorable creation.”

In 2021, the Khao Kheow Open Zoo met with backlash over its elephant swimming shows. It featured performances where elephants swim, dance, and perform tricks while visitors watch through a glass enclosure.

The zoo has defended the shows, despite social media outrage calling it an example of animal cruelty.

The controversy intensified after a photo titled “Elephant in the Room” by Adam Oswell won an award at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards 2021, organised by the Natural History Museum in London.

In an interview, the zoo’s then director, Tewin Rattanawongsawat, defended the shows, saying that swimming is a natural behaviour for elephants and that they are not forced to perform, as no mahouts ride them.

He said that the elephants swim freely and receive food rewards after each show.

Animal rights activists said that the practice was cruel and urged the Chonburi governor at the time to shut down the zoo and transfer the elephants to a sanctuary.

“No elephant would exhibit these types of behaviours in the wild, so in order to make them do so for the crowds, trainers use cruel techniques to make sure their charges will do what they say when they say it,” a petition posted on Care2 noted.

The zoo’s website still shows the timing for elephant swimming shows on its homepage.

The Independent has reached out to Khao Kheow Open Zoo for comment.

In 2018 Attaporn Sriheran, the then-zoo director, again defended the elephant swimming shows. “The show is considered exercise for the elephants. Normally they go into pools to play with water anyway,” Sriheran told Khaosod English.

“The zoo then designed another pool for the elephants to swim and at the same time allows children and visitors to learn about their behaviour as well.”

The Khao Kheow Open Zoo also advertises a “Penguin Parade” on its website. The show involves penguins waddling up in a queue on a ramp for the visitors.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, as tourism in Thailand rebounded, zoos in the country have come under renewed scrutiny for their treatment of animals and overall welfare standards.