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Did
you know!
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That: Southern
Thailand has been inhabited since the early days of mankind by ancient tribes
who settled and or adapted their lifestyles to the local environment. Who
arrived first and who pushed out or assimilated who has kept archaeologists
occupied for a long time, and promises to keep them working for a good while
to come.
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From our
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Travelers Guide to Phuket
Activities
- Elephant Trekking
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Elephant
Trekking
In
former times wild elephants roamed Phuket Island but as tin mining
and rubber plantations changed the natural environment elephants
slowly disappeared. As recently as three years ago the only
elephants to be found on Phuket were at tourist attractions like
the 'Thai Village' or the 'Crocodile Farm'. In late 1994, 'Siam
Safari Nature Tours' pioneered the concept offering visitors to
the island an opportunity to ride on an elephant on their property
in the hills overlooking Chalong Bay. Regulated and controlled
properly 'elephant trekking' can offer a much-needed lift to the
tourism industry, and generate the funds to assure the survival of
thousands of elephants in a dignified manner. Unfortunately, the
opposite is equally possible in the current uncontrolled rush to
'cash in' on this latest business opportunity. As the number of
new elephant camps increase so do the reports of overworked and
abused elephants. Informed visitors who demand humane treatment
for the elephants may be the last best chance to save many of
these majestic creatures.
The unpleasant reality is the natural habitat of the Asian
Elephant has diminished to the point that only an estimated 2,000
survive in the wild. A number not generally believed large enough
to maintain the essential genetic-diversity to ensure the survival
of the species in the wild. Traditionally domesticated elephants
were used as transport, and in the logging industry moving cut
timber. All logging was officially banned in Thailand in 1989.
Elephants that had been employed to move logs in the forest became
unemployed, that is why they can now be seen in Bangkok and
tourist areas literally 'begging' for a living. It costs
approximately US$500 per month to feed and care for an elephant in
captivity. In the modern world elephants have an almost human-like
problem of needing to be gainfully employed in order to survive.
With the survival of these majestic and highly intelligent
creatures increasingly in doubt. It is more important than ever
for visitors to understand they have the power to make a positive
difference. Informed visitors to Thailand can support the humane
treatment of these gracious beasts by carefully selecting the
elephant camp they visit. As with any high growth industry
'elephant trekking' is subject to abuse.
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Avoid elephant operations that
allow the Mahouts (elephant keeper) to use the dreaded metal
hook to control the animal. This device is cruel and
unnecessary for a well trained and happy elephant, but is
legal and frequently used in Thailand.
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The dawn to dusk regime of
many elephant camps is unhealthy for the animals. Adult
elephants need to graze for 8 to 10 hours a day. Elephants are
forest animals and do not like being in the direct sunlight.
Avoid camps that have the animals staked outside in the sun
all day.
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Elephants are nervous around
automobiles, and loud noises, and they do not eat properly
when in this type of environment. Many of the roadside
elephant camps are offering little more than a 'photo
opportunity' of you while riding atop an elephant, before it
plods slowly down a well worn path for your ten minute
elephant trek. If it looks like a fly-by-night operation it
probably is one. Avoid the elephant camps that appear to have
just opened yesterday.
Please! Never go
near an elephant without its mahout (handler) not all of the
elephants are accustomed to being around unfamiliar people so
using caution is advisable.
Elephants
are the largest living land mammals on Earth. Thai history is rich
in elephant lore and this venerable beast and plays a major role
in Thai culture. Ancient Siam (Thailand) was constantly at war and
in warfare of that day elephants had a tactical importance similar
to that of tanks today. As a beast of burden, the elephant
is not a great success, for the average load it can carry is no
more than about 600 pounds (270kg), though it is claimed that the
Japanese, during World War II, loaded four tons of ammunition on
individual animals. After a day's work an elephant needs to be
released into the forest and allowed feed itself for much of the
night to ingest the necessary 350-Kg of vegetation required for an
adult. It is when foraging for the more nutritious food that can
only be found in forested areas that elephants often clash with
local villagers and farmers. For example, elephants are fond of
pineapple and are apparently delighted to find them planted in
neat rows, irritated farmers have been known to poison or shoot
the elephants for damaging fences and crops.
It is estimated that at least
several thousand elephants are now being used by illegal logging
operations that have sprung up since Thailand banned legal logging
a decade ago. Today, many unscrupulous operators drug the
elephants to make them work harder. No law protects these majestic
beasts from cruelty at the hands of their owners despite the fact
that Thailand's former national symbol is now an endangered
species. Many underfed elephants addicted to amphetamines die or
suffer horribly as a result of cruelty and ignorance.
Elephants
have been in the news a lot lately, and none of it has been good:
elephants being poisoned for raiding pineapple farms, elephants
being fed amphetamines to make them work harder, rogue elephants
being shot dead; an elephant killed an Australian tourist.
The following article appeared in
the Bangkok Post on December 19,1997 and is unfortunately very
common.
An
autopsy on a bull elephant that died of shock in Hang Chat
district has revealed that it died of overwork and maltreatment. Preecha
Puangkham, a veterinarian from the Elephant Hospital, said that
the elephant which died in a rice field in Ban Na Bua on Tuesday,
died of shock because it was worked too hard. The animal also
suffered from malnutrition, lack of rest and a changing climate. According
to the autopsy, Plai Ek, the 20-year-old bull elephant, suffered
internal bleeding in its major organs including the heart, brain,
liver and abdomen. "From my experience, I can say that it
might have died of shock as its heart was found to have much fat.
This showed that it had earlier worked too hard. Congestion of the
blood in important organs caused Plai Ek to have
convulsions," Mr Preecha said. On
the hypothesis made by villagers that the elephant was poisoned,
he said the hospital had to wait for the results of an autopsy
from the Northern Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Center before
making a final conclusion, adding it is expected the details will
be made public on Monday. He
also voiced concern that more than 30 elephants, used for illegal
logging in the same area where Plai Ek lived, might be at risk. According
to Mr Preecha, the Elephant Hospital will keep a close watch on
more than 50 sick elephants under its care to prevent them from
infection until it is certain that Plai Ek did not die of a
communicable disease.
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