EL OF A STUNT
A RUSSIAN influencer has been slammed for posing NAKED on top of an endangered elephant in Bali.
Alesya Kafelnikova, 22, posted a short video to Instagram on February 13 of herself lying naked on top of a Sumatran elephant.
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In the video Kafelnikova poses on the critically endangered animal while it wags its tail and shakes its ears.
The 22-year-old, who is a daughter of the former tennis champion and world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov, shared the video to her 536,000 followers with the caption: "Natural vibes".
In another ironic post, she posted a picture with the elephant telling her followers that "to love nature is human nature."
While some followers posted desperate comments such as "for the first time ever, I want to be an elephant" others focused on the animal's welfare.
One Instagram-user said: "Poor elephant. Aren't you ashamed to lie naked on an elephant? This is a living creature. Money overshadows everything."
Another called the photoshoot a "violation" against the animal.
A spokesperson from the charity Save the Asian Elephants told the SunOnline: "Yet another tragic trivialisation of the majestic Asian elephant when the species is fighting for its very existence against brutal abuse in tourism and human 'entertainment'.
"Save The Asian Elephants stands for a ban by law on the advertising and sale of unethical venues where these special creatures are commercialised with beating, stabbing and every kind of torture to break them for easy commercial exploitation - genuine sanctuaries only."
In 2012 the Sumatran elephant was changed from 'Endangered' to 'Critically Endangered' by the WWF due to deforestation and the degradation of its natural habitat.
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Despite Kafelnikova posing on a Sumatran elephant in Bali, where she currently lives, the animal is not native to the Indonesian island but are kept captive to serve the tourism industry.
Recently shocking footage showing sickening scenes of elephant abuse in Sri Lanka was shared online.
In the short clip, a clearly exhausted elephant is thrashed on the head over and over until he keels over and screams in pain.
The horrific scenes are thought to have been filmed at a Buddhist temple in Mirigama, Sri Lanka, the Metro says.
The clip was posted to the Facebook page Rally for Animal Rights and Environment, who say the animal's name is Vishwa.
In one of the Facebook posts showing Vishwa, it was also alleged the wild animal was tied to a tree for two weeks as part of a ritual.
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Elephants are also struck on their sensitive ears to make them play football and give rides to visitors at the Chitwan Elephant Festival.
Festival organisers claimed measures had been brought in to stop animal abuse but the shocking video reveals it is still continuing.
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Shocking video shows Sri Lankan elephant crying in pain while man slaps its head