Elephant rides in Thailand: an activity to avoid

The truth about elephant rides in Thailand: behind the unique experience of climbing on the back of this majestic animal, there is unfortunately a sad reality, some elephants are tortured to make them docile and are overexploited.

A few years ago, I was cycling in the north of Chiang Mai with some friends and we passed several gigantic elephants guided by their mahouts carrying tourists for a ride in the forest.

What struck me was the red and tired eyes of these elephants, I really felt their sadness, but when I talked about it with friends, one laughed and said that you can't tell if an elephant is sad or not.

And yet they were sad, and perhaps it is because it is not visible that this industry continues to thrive.

Years before, I had done some elephant rides on the Khao Lak side, it was when I was learning to speak Thai and it was actually free rides.

I had found accommodation away from the tourist area, close to a camp, and had quickly made friends with the owners and mahouts.

They were happy to be able to talk in Thai with a foreigner, as they were used to seeing them pass by just for a walk.

And I had already felt that the mahout's relationship with the elephant was not based on respect or love but on domination and fear.

Yet they were extremely kind and welcoming people, who did this in the traditional way, without any thought of harm.

Elephant rides: the plight of the Asian elephant

Asian elephants are an endangered species.

Experts estimate that there are now fewer than 2,000 wild elephants living in Thailand.

The population is declining rapidly due to the loss of their natural habitat.

Illegal capture and trade for the tourism industry is also a serious problem.

This industry thrives because foreign visitors all want to ride elephants or watch them perform tricks, paying a lot of money for the privilege.

But the fact is that these wild elephants must be tamed before they can be ridden.

But the taming process in Southeast Asia is not the same as with a wild horse.

This is much more brutal and is done when the elephants are very young.

Torture of a baby elephant

Wild elephants will not let a human ride on their back.

So, to tame a wild elephant, it is tortured as a baby to break its spirit completely.

The process is called Phajaan.

This involves removing baby elephants from their mothers and confining them to a very small space, such as a cage or hole in the ground where they cannot move.

The baby elephants are then beaten with sticks with sharp hooks and simultaneously deprived of sleep for several days.

Behind the elephant rides in Thailand

The mistreatment of elephants does not stop after they have been tamed.

Many elephant camps continue to use torture to control the animals.

And some camps work them around the clock to meet the ever-increasing tourist demand.

Elephants never forget.

If an elephant camp in Southeast Asia claims to be "responsible" with its animals, you should always be sceptical.

Remember that the process used to train them is often the same, even if they are treated kindly now.

And usually there is no way to be sure.

Elephants' backs are fragile!

Surprisingly, the back is the most fragile part of an elephant.

The elephant does not carry heavy loads on its naturally arched back.

They can carry up to 500 kg on their trunk, neck and skull, but a day's trek with a metal basket weighing at least 50 kg and several tourists can damage their backs quite badly!

You can easily recognise an elephant with a trekking background by looking at its back.

The Asian elephant's back naturally forms a beautiful arch, but when an elephant has worked for many years in a camp, its back is slumped.

Should we go on elephant rides?

In view of all this information, it is of course inadvisable for respectful people to go on elephant rides, especially those who use pods to accommodate several people.

But there are many camps or organisations that offer a respectful and magical exchange with these pachyderms.

as the " Save The Elephant Foundation "

Founder Lek Chailert set up Elephant Nature Park to rescue abused elephants from the tourist industry and give them a better life.

The park offers day trips and week-long volunteer opportunities that allow tourists to interact with and learn about elephants.

As a registered Thai non-profit foundation, the fees raised are used to feed and care for the pachyderms, purchase additional elephants from their owners and expand the sanctuary itself.

There are other elephant-friendly centres featured in these articles:

Living with elephants at Ganesha Park in Kanchanaburi

Patara Elephant Farm, become a mahout for a day in Chiang Mai

If you know of similar centres, please share them in the comments.

See also :

In Khao Yai elephants attack cars

An elephant orchestra in Lampang, northern Thailand