THAILAND: An Elephant Never Forgets

Asian elephants have played an important role in Thailand’s history. 

They have been a symbol of Thailand since ancient times.

The more elephants (“chang”) a Thai king had the more status and power he enjoyed.

Known for their size, strength and intelligence, elephants were important in battle and used as weapons in warfare from the fifteenth century. 

When covered in armour, carrying soldiers, and charging speeds of around 25 kilometres per hour, they were formidable opponents. 

In Thai society elephants have also played a substantial role in manual labour. For thousands of years, elephants were captured and trained to be a form of transport and heavy labour. When logging in Thailand was still legal, they hauled heavy logs through forests.

In the year 1900, the number of elephants in Thailand was estimated to be around 100,000, but just over a century later, that figure had been dramatically reduced to around 3,000 – 4,000 with almost half of that number domesticated and the remainder living wild in National Parks.

Asian elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

There is a lot of concern about how to deal with the elephant population.

The banning of logging and the rise of modern transportation left many traditional elephant keepers, known as mahouts, and their elephants without the income required for their care.

Elephants eat a lot; between 149 and 169 kg (330-375 lb.) of vegetation daily. Sixteen to eighteen hours, or nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding. Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots.

Elephants also drink a lot, and require about 68.4 to 98.8 L (18 to 26 gal.) of water daily, but may consume up to 152 L (40 gal.). An adult male elephant can drink up to 212 L (55 gal.) of water in less than five minutes.

Thailand’s captive elephant population exceeds the space available for both wild habitat and wild-ish sanctuary space. This can create conflict between villagers and elephants competing for dwindling spaces and resources. 

Sometimes the results have been very dangerous and catastrophic.

As a result, many mahouts have turned to the tourism trade for income to ensure the elephants currently living in captivity are taken care of.

The COVID-19 pandemic made conditions for captive elephants even worse, according to animal experts, who say when tourist dollars dried up, elephants went without food

Releasing captive elephants into the wild is illegal under Thai law and even elephants rescued from abuse must remain in captivity. Captive elephants have learned to depend on humans and lack skills to survive in the wild.

Elephant sanctuaries have sprung up in order to protect them. These sanctuaries also welcome tourists, who provide the main source of income.

We went to an animal sanctuary and chopped bamboo treats and placed them into pipes for their afternoon snack.

We then mixed up a vitamin ball to keep them healthy.

The next day we went for another visit and ride.

I can understand the controversy and the issues with reliance on tourism.

I don’t think an answer will be reached overnight, but hopefully a healthy balance will be achieved to keep the elephants, mahouts, villagers and environment safe and happy.