Culture & community

The history of the working elephant can be traced back to around 2000 BC in northwest India. Since then, elephants have been used as beasts of burden across India and Southeast Asia – to haul logs, carry crops and people, to entertain, play polo, and even in battle – carrying soldiers and arms into combat, where they would trample enemies. Alexander the Great was confronted by some 85 elephants when he reached the Indian border in 326 BC, and Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with 45 elephants in 218 BC, sealing their depiction as symbols of war and power.

Their strength was unparalleled in an age before machinery, and in more recent times their use in the logging industry has actually been a less damaging way of removing timber from the thick forests; unlike with trucks, the forest does not need to be flattened to build access roads as the elephants can drag logs between the trees.

It is not just their enormous size and strength that made them such valuable working animals; the elephant’s incredible intelligence means they can be taught to obey complex commands and build strong relationships with their owners. They are revered throughout the region; Ganesha is the elephant-headed Hindu deity, and elephants play vital roles in temples and ceremonies. In Thailand, the elephant – particularly the “white elephant” – is linked to the monarchy. Sadly, their high status is no indicator of their treatment; there are no laws in place regarding the welfare of captive elephants in Asia.

India: In India, particularly in the south, the majority of captive elephants live in temples, where they are believed to bring good fortune. This luck does not extend to the temple elephants, however, who are usually kept on short chains to limit their movements, unable to escape the midday sun or interact with other elephants. They also perform in processions and ceremonies, which can be stressful and physically harmful – all in the name of religion.*

Thailand: Having been used for war, and then for heavy labour, the Asian elephant’s role is changing again. In 1989, Thailand implemented a complete ban on all commercial logging – which resulted in hundreds of unemployed elephants – and unemployed mahouts. Elephants consume up to 200kg of vegetation in a day, and are not cheap to look after; they needed to work to pay for their own upkeep. As the logging ban coincided with the growth of tourism in Thailand, they were used to give rides to tourists, as well as being trained to display their old logging and carrying skills in shows, to dance to music and to paint. Many elephants are still forced to live like this today.

Africa: Africa has virtually no tradition of keeping elephants in captivity, due to the difficulties of capturing and training them. The exception was a small working group in the Belgian Congo from the 19th century, and a now extinct, smaller subspecies of North African elephant may also have been tamed thousands of years ago. However, tourism has created a growing demand for captive African elephants and tourists can ride them in some places, particularly in South African “sanctuaries” and to Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe.

*Source: Elemotion Foundation

Dave Tucker, from our supplier The Beyond Tourism Co.:
“Some of the resistance to change comes from the Thai people who feel we’re telling them their culture is wrong and their history is wrong – which, understandably, upsets them. But in Thailand, because the use of elephants has changed twice already – from war machines to logging to tourist rides – I think it can change again.”

Jo Cary-Elwes from Elephant Family:
“One of the things that urgently needs to change is our perception of Asian elephants. They’re often associated with captivity, and many people don’t realise that they’re an endangered species. There is a huge focus on Africa and the ivory trade, which there needs to be, but in many ways the Asian elephant is a lot worse off. It’s being hammered from all sides: massive habitat loss, poisonings, electrocution, poaching, demand from tourism - the list goes on.“

In April 2014, Burma also put an end to commercial logging – releasing a further 5,000 elephants from torturous labour*. This left them without work; some were set free, leaving them at the mercy of hunters. Others have been smuggled into Thailand, where wild elephants are protected, to work in the tourism industry. Burma has also gone on to develop unregulated elephant tourism of its own. This puts extra pressure on its fledgling tourist industry to reduce the demand for this type of tourism.

*Source: Time.com