Small presentation of the change
The elephant present in Thailand is the Indian elephant, one of the 3 categories of Asian elephant, smaller than its African cousin. Only the males have tusks. At the beginning of the 20th century, the country had more than 100,000 of them, either in freedom or in captivity. Tropical forests are its natural habitat and it is found mainly in the north and west of the country. Illegal logging has significantly reduced its natural habitat. In 1986 it was declared a threatened species. There are only about 4,000 of them, scattered in various sanctuaries and national parks, despite a slight increase in its population thanks to the conservation and protection efforts that have been put in place.
In Thailand, wild elephants have been protected by national laws and the CITES Treaty (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) since 1983. This is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Concern for the survival of the Thai elephant led to the creation of the National Elephant Institute (NEI), established in Lampang by the Thai Elephant Conservation Center. NEI works with the Department of National Parks and several NGOs to protect Thai elephants and their habitat.A strong symbol of Buddhism
In Buddhism, the elephant is considered sacred. Wife of King Suddhodana, Queen Maya had a dream in which a white elephant held a lotus flower with its trunk. After consultation with the wise men, she was told that it was a premonitory sign of the birth of a child who would be exceptional. This child was Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. The animal, a symbol of strength, patience, and wisdom, is also often mentioned in Buddha's speeches, notably in one of his most famous parables, The Blind and the Elephant
. Since Buddhism is the main religion of the country, the elephant is quite logically a royal animal, whose first mention engraved in stone dates back to the time of King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai. It is present on many coats of arms, seals and symbols over the centuries. The white elephant, a symbol of good fortune, holds a special role in the heart of the royal family. It has become the symbol of good fortune, even appearing on the national flag in 1917. Every white elephant in the country, more akin to pinkish-grey in reality, used to be the property of the king. On March 13, 1963, the white elephant was chosen as the country's national animal. In 1998, the government declared March 13 Thai Chang Day, the national day of the elephant. The elephant is still present in some royal ceremonies, most often dressed in ceremonial attire and sometimes even painted.History of the exploitation of the elephant
Omnipresent in the daily life of the Thai people for centuries, the elephant was used for transport, as a labour force, in wars.
Thus in the 17th century, the Siamese army had nearly 20,000 elephants trained to fight. Their training consisted of fighting other elephants with their tusks, chasing horses and getting used to the sound of detonations. The Surin Elephant Festival, held every year in November, is the largest gathering of elephants in the country, with animals coming from all over Thailand for the occasion. It is intended to pay homage to the animal, in particular with scenes of titanic battles recreated. It has unfortunately become more of a lucrative tourist attraction than a real tribute to the pachyderm.
Logging used to be the main activity of domestic elephants and their mahouts (called mahouts in Thailand). This was declared illegal in 1989 and the mahouts, having lost their main income, converted their elephants into fairground animals for the tourist industry. If you see one of these young pachyderms wandering around with its ragged master, don't be surprised. You still come across them sometimes in Bangkok. During the day, their guardians hide them in the middle of the bush in the suburbs, but at night, they are taken to the streets to beg. Too young, they leave their native province for the pollution of the big cities. Once they arrive in the city, they are kept hidden in squalid corners and are forced to lead the same miserable life as their masters, in the noise and smoke, a sad fate! However, many tourist agencies and elephant sanctuaries have changed their offers. Most sanctuaries now collect, care for and take care of elephants and offer visitors not to ride them but to spend the day in their company, to feed them, wash them... However, even this activity is not totally devoted to the elephant's well-being, for while some sanctuaries collect and care for animals previously ridden or used in tourist shows (such as playing football, painting, etc.), others are not so devoted to the elephant's welfare.While some sanctuaries recover and care for animals previously mounted or used in tourist shows (such as playing football, painting, etc.), others do not hesitate to rent the animal to individuals to 'fill' their sanctuary and increase their income.
