With their floppy ears, dangling trunks, and soulful eyes, one's heart can't help but melt at the sight of a baby Asian elephant. While watching a young elephant play, it becomes clear that they behave just as a toddler might. They splash around in the river like a small child would do in the tub, they go out and explore (while staying close to mom, of course), and they have an untarnished love of life and innocence that most of us had before realizing the dangers of the world ... and sadly, just like us, there are plenty of obstacles Asian elephants must face.
Elephant tourism is currently one of the biggest, and most profitable attractions in Southeast Asia. People come from all over the world to cross "riding an elephant" off of their bucket list. But what many of these tourists don't realize is the devastating truth behind this corrupt industry.
Most of the "domesticated" elephants that tourists ride, pose for photos with and take on treks were victims of an outdated practice called the "phajaan" which means "the breaking of the spirit." During this process, young elephants who were either taken away from their mothers in the wild by poachers or who were born into captivity are locked in a small pen, tied up, starved, and beaten into submission. The devices used to "break" the elephant can differ, but one of the most common is a bullhook. These sharp metal objects are also used in circuses and are meant to hit the elephants in the most sensitive areas of their bodies including their head, mouth, shoulder, and behind the ears where the skin is paper thin. The pain is excruciating. This unjustifiable torture can last from several weeks to several months. Without their mothers there to protect them, the juvenile elephants soon lose hope and are eventually deemed successfully "broken." So what's the purpose of all of this? To instill a fear in the elephants that will last a lifetime. The mahouts are then able to control their elephant by just carrying the bullhook with them, but many continue to hit their elephant throughout its daily routine as a reminder of who's in charge.
You may also choose to watch this short and informative video regarding the current status of the Burmese elephants that also includes a clip of what the phajaan typically looks like, via The Smithsonian.
But some elephants endure even more beatings as they are trained to perform unnatural tricks such as painting pictures and doing headstands. The process of training an elephant to paint is especially grueling because they must learn how to create a certain image (like the one below) something that can be very time consuming and therefore more painful to the elephant as they are beaten until they get it right.
Notice the bullhook in the man's hand.
There are also many young elephants who are dragged to street markets and local beaches to beg for money. Tourists flock to these adorable animals; wanting to take pictures with them and sometimes even climbing on their back for a short ride. It seems innocent enough however without even realizing it millions of people are helping to fund poaching.
Elephants in the tourism industry aren't usually bred. This is due to the fact that elephants have a long gestational period and a very low birth rate in captivity, meaning the elephant this woman is posing with was almost undoubtedly taken from the wild. Capturing wild elephants is illegal, but because of some strategically developed loopholes, many young elephants are smuggled into captivity. It's estimated that anywhere from 50 to 200 wild baby Asian elephants are caught and transported from Myanmar to Thailand every year and as the demand for these animals increases that number will only go up.
With their floppy ears, dangling trunks, and soulful eyes, one's heart can't help but melt at the sight of a baby Asian elephant. While watching a young elephant play, it becomes clear that they behave just as a toddler might. They splash around in the river like a small child would do in the tub, they go out and explore (while staying close to mom, of course), and they have an untarnished love of life and innocence that most of us had before realizing the dangers of the world ... and sadly, just like us, there are plenty of obstacles Asian elephants must face.Elephant tourism is currently one of the biggest, and most profitable attractions in Southeast Asia. People come from all over the world to cross "riding an elephant" off of their bucket list. But what many of these tourists don't realize is the devastating truth behind this corrupt industry.Most of the "domesticated" elephants that tourists ride, pose for photos with and take on treks were victims of an outdated practice called the "phajaan" which means "the breaking of the spirit." During this process, young elephants who were either taken away from their mothers in the wild by poachers or who were born into captivity are locked in a small pen, tied up, starved, and beaten into submission. The devices used to "break" the elephant can differ, but one of the most common is a bullhook. These sharp metal objects are also used in circuses and are meant to hit the elephants in the most sensitive areas of their bodies including their head, mouth, shoulder, and behind the ears where the skin is paper thin. The pain is excruciating. This unjustifiable torture can last from several weeks to several months. Without their mothers there to protect them, the juvenile elephants soon lose hope and are eventually deemed successfully "broken." So what's the purpose of all of this? To instill a fear in the elephants that will last a lifetime. The mahouts are then able to control their elephant by just carrying the bullhook with them, but many continue to hit their elephant throughout its daily routine as a reminder of who's in charge.You may also choose to watch this short and informative video regarding the current status of the Burmese elephants that also includes a clip of what the phajaan typically looks like, via The Smithsonian.But some elephants endure even more beatings as they are trained to perform unnatural tricks such as painting pictures and doing headstands. The process of training an elephant to paint is especially grueling because they must learn how to create a certain image (like the one below) something that can be very time consuming and therefore more painful to the elephant as they are beaten until they get it right. Notice the bullhook in the man's hand.There are also many young elephants who are dragged to street markets and local beaches to beg for money. Tourists flock to these adorable animals; wanting to take pictures with them and sometimes even climbing on their back for a short ride. It seems innocent enough however without even realizing it millions of people are helping to fund poaching. Elephants in the tourism industry aren't usually bred. This is due to the fact that elephants have a long gestational period and a very low birth rate in captivity, meaning the elephant this woman is posing with was almost undoubtedly taken from the wild. Capturing wild elephants is illegal, but because of some strategically developed loopholes, many young elephants are smuggled into captivity. It's estimated that anywhere from 50 to 200 wild baby Asian elephants are caught and transported from Myanmar to Thailand every year and as the demand for these animals increases that number will only go up.
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