Alesya Kafelnikova, Russian Model Naked On A Sumatran Elephant: We Love Bali And Respect Indonesian Rules

Alesya Kafelnikova (Instagram @kafelnikova_a)

JAKARTA - Russian model Alesya Kafelnikova, who posed naked on an elephant in Bali earlier this month, opened her voice regarding her controversial post.

A 22-year-old woman lying naked on top of the endangered Sumatran elephant. She then posted the video on her Instagram.

Alesya, who is also the daughter of former Russian tennis world champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, shared the video and image two weeks ago, complemented by the caption "Natural vibes" in English.

In a separate post, she also shared a photo with an elephant telling her followers that 'loving nature is human nature'.

The post was criticized by various parties, including Save the Asian Elephants, who called it 'another tragic thing'.

Since receiving mixed responses on social media in the now-deleted post, Alesya has apologized for causing the offense. However, on the other hand, she also claims her critics mistakenly view "extraordinary beauty" as an act of vulgarity.

"It's a shame people see this as vulgar, and not as beauty and love of nature. I love animals, I love elephants! And I love Bali so much! I hope each of you will evoke aesthetic love for my posts and their beauty", in her recent post, Aleysa apologized.

"It was a private shoot, I don't mean to hurt the feelings of local people at all. We love Balinese culture and respect Indonesian rules. Sorry if you see anything else in this regard".

She added: "My goal is to show you that I love and respect animals and especially elephants more than anything else.

"I hope everyone who is so negative will evoke aesthetic love to my posts and you will see incredible beauty in them!"

According to SunOnline, the head of the Bali Tourism Office, Putu Astawa, criticized the model's actions.

He said the shooting including the short video "clearly does not meet the norms we promote as part of tourism in Bali".