Love Elephants - Don't Ride Them!

In January this year I took a break from the ol' Straya and made for new territory as Peter and I set off for Thailand (which is part of the reason why this blog has been in a state of hibernation for a while). After spending one night and day in buzzing Bangkok we arrived in Chiang Mai, a place in the North of Thailand. Being one of the highlights of our Thailand trip, we did many touristy, yet amazing, activities there. We took part in an inspiring, interesting and super-delicious Thai cooking class with Thai Orchid Cookery School. If you ever get the chance to see Chiang Mai, take part in one of their courses, it is so worth it.

Another activity we felt we couldn't miss was going to one of the many elephant homes Thailand offers. The owner of the guest house we stayed in - Funky Monkey Guesthouse and Restaurant -  recommended that we book with Happy Elephant Home, because they pride themselves in not exploiting the beautiful grey giants. There is no riding or hurting the animals in any other way. Guests are encouraged to interact with the animals by feeding them fresh produce, such as pumpkins and sugar canes. You get up as close as possible with the gentle creatures and learn about their life at the home. You even get to bathe them in a river. Happy Elephant Home takes in old circus elephants and gives them a pain-free life. I loved experiencing these awe-inspiring animals and being so close to them, it was more than enough for me to feed them, walk with them and bathe them, or see them enjoying a mud-bath. If you're used to seeing them caged up in Zoo's, even if they have a really big enclosure such as in Melbourne Zoo, it's so fascinating to see them like this. 

However, this is not enough for some people, who insist on wanting to ride them. I cannot understand the fascination with riding them, since in no moment I had the wish to do so. I had no wish to use them in that way for my pleasure , I wanted to be on one level, not dominating them from above, shouting directions. Since there is a demand for this, many camps offer it. The more humane ones do not use the big frames that are put on elephants heads/backs. They let people ride them on their necks, without anything else, no heavy frames that jab into their skins. I guess this is fair enough. It doesn't cause them physical pain. 

Other camps however, as I witnessed in Koh Samui at the "Waterfall 2" near Chaweng, do use heavy steel frames that hurt the animals and apparently not only that. When Peter, his friend and I were on our way hiking towards the waterfall I saw the elephants and was appalled. They had scars from ropes around their legs, and scars in their faces. People were sitting on top of them, clueless about the cruelty they were causing. I felt bad for the animals and wished people would stop paying for tours with operators that clearly do not care about the animals' well-being.

Not surprisingly, about 5 days after passing this gruesome sight, Peter reads an article to me, about a tourist who had tragically died at the same elephant home just after we had been there. A husband and father of two had been trampled to death by an elephant, who had gotten angry with his handler, who had beaten it several times befre it rose off its feet and threw the tourists off. Elephants get stabbed, cut and beaten if they do not obey the constant orders they receive, if they do not comply with all of their handlers' instructions. This is not the first case of an elephant rising up towards their abuser. What's worst is that, according to another article,  Thai officials tried to brush this off by saying "it was too hot" and that the male animal was "in heat" and hormonal. 

Elephant hugs, not rides :)

To stop tragedies like this to happen  tourists can inform themselves before booking any tours. Several operators already took action and do not offer any tours that involve riding. Please spread the message and help these lovely creatures.