It is estimated that in 1900 there were 100,000 elephants roaming Thailand, today their numbers have decreased to an estimated 3,000 domestic and a further 2,000 in the wild. In Thailand, elephants have traditionally worked with humans in the logging industry, functioning as the trucks and heavy machinery of the day. In 1989, due to deforestation, devastating floods occurred across the country and as a result, the government officially banned all logging activity. This was a good decision for the remaining forest, but not good news for the elephants who could no longer be a source of income for their owners.

Most of these elephants went to work into the tourism industry, “trekking camps”, circuses and wandering the streets of the big cities begging. This is the new reality for these animals. What most people do not know, is that riding on the back of an elephant in a ‘trekking camp’ is a very heavy burden for this huge animal. Their neck and trunk are very strong, but the back of an elephant is built for a maximum load of 100 kg. The seat only, weighs about 50 kg, plus passengers… but this is not the only problem, sometimes the elephants have to work for 10 hours a day or even more. Some camps are also only providing a very basic diet or too little food for the elephants. For some of them, this is literally leading to exhaustion. A shocking fact not many people know about.

This picture is of an elephant who sadly has worked her whole life in an trekking camp.