Elephant is the best-known symbol of Thailand. Thinking about the Kingdom, most people imagine this huge and cute animal in the first place, not the national flag or Som-Tam papaya salad. And of course, many of us are eager to ride an elephant during the trip to Thailand. The idea of sitting atop a massive 9 foot tall 4 ton beast, while lumbering your way through deep rivers and pristine jungle, attracts many tourists and travelers. But most people participating in elephant tourism in Thailand are completely unaware of what stands behind the friendly meekness of the largest animal on Earth.
The fact is that wild elephants need to be tamed before they can be ridden. Elephant taming in Southeast Asia is not the same as with a wild horse in the West. It’s much more brutal, and usually accomplished when the elephants are very young. Wild elephant will never let a human ride on top of it. So in order to tame a wild elephant, it is tortured as a baby to completely break its spirit. The process is called Phajaan, or “the crush”. It involves ripping baby elephant away from its mother and confining it in a very small space, like a cage or hole in the ground where the little one is unable to move. Then the baby elephant is beaten into submission with clubs, pierced with sharp bull-hooks, and simultaneously starved and deprived of sleep for many days.
Further on, the elephant mistreatment does not stop after they have been tamed. Many Mahouts, or “elephant handlers”, continue to employ bull-hooks to control the animals. While they may not be stabbing elephants constantly like they did in training, the fear of being stabbed is fairly enough to motivate the animals to work. As sad as it sounds, but an elephant never forgets.
Few people know that riding elephants can actually cause serious long-term harm to their spine. It’s hard to believe given their size, but the elephant’s back is not made to support the weight of humans.
Lots of Thai elephants got to tourism industry after the logging ban in 1989. After long, monotonous and health-breaking years of hard work in logging, these intimidated and worn-out animals had to entertain the blissfully unaware humans. If the elephant is not working, its front legs are usually hobbled. It has no time for play or interact with other elephants. When the work day is over, everyone is too exhausted for any form of communication. Access to water is not always possible, let alone bathing. And if the elephant is too old and its teeth are worn-out, it is not likely that anybody will care about a special diet. Gradually the elephant becomes gaunt and listless. But every new day it still has to work riding hoards of tourist on its back or lifting and balancing them on its trunk for spectacular photos.
That is the most common fate for the giant creature in Southern Asia, who was unlucky to become a human slave. Harsh treatment of elephants has been a traditional practice in Thailand for hundreds of years. But nowadays the problem is that most captive elephants in Thailand are used to entertain tourists rather than for traditional purposes like logging or military use. This industry thrives because foreign visitors all want to ride elephants, or watch them do tricks, paying good money for the privilege.
Whether to ride elephants in Thailand or not is a personal choice. But it is always better to make an informed decision.
Protecting the elephants
According to Elephant Crisis Fund (EFC) every 15 minutes an elephant is killed for its ivory tusks, an unless people act now, elephants face an uncertain future. Various NGOs and foundations trying to make a difference in the lives of elephants and protect them from extinction. One of the leading ones are Save the Elephants (based in Kenya) and The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Please find more at https://elephantcrisisfund.org.
One of the most well know Thai foundations is Elephant Nature Park (ENP), a natural sanctuary tucked away in the beautiful jungles of Northern Thailand. Their mission is to protect and care for mistreated elephants rescued from the tourism and logging industries at the same time increasing awareness and promoting sustainable elephant-friendly tourism. The park currently cares for 36 elephants on 250 acres of wilderness. Please find more at http://www.saveelephant.org.
