How Elephant’s Bodies Are Damaged by Tourist Rides
An elephant sanctuary has released striking images of how their rescue elephant’s spines are visibly deformed from years in the riding industry, in an effort to help raise awareness amongst tourists.
Left, Pai Lin and her deformed spine. Right, Thung Ngern, with a typical dome-shaped spine. Credit: WFFT
Pai Lin the elephant spent over 25 years in Thailand’s trekking industry, where she was forced to give rides to up to six tourists at a time.
She now lives free at Thailand’s biggest wildlife rescue center where she can roam chain-free and engage in natural behaviours.
But photographs show Pai Lin’s spine, which should naturally be rounded and raised, is caved in and sunken from the heavy weight of repeated work.
Pai Lin’s dipped back. Credit: WFFT
These physical deformations are common in elephants used for tourist rides, according to Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), who released the photos of their resident Pai Lin to help raise awareness of how elephants can suffer as part of the riding industry.
With Thailand expected to welcome around 30 million international visitors this year, WFFT hopes that elephant stories like these can help influence tourists not to visit unethical elephant trekking camps, which are common throughout the country.
Boon Chuey, is another rescued elephants who also has a damaged back, after decades of strenuous work. Credit: WFFT
Elephants used for trekking often spend full days carrying the weight of their mahout (handler), groups of tourists, and a heavy howdah (seat). This continuous pressure on their bodies can deteriorate the tissue and bones on their back, causing irreversible physical damage to their spines. Pai Lin’s back bears scars from old pressure points.
A typical “howdah” – or seat – used for elephant rides. Credit: Amy Jones/Moving Animals
“While elephants may be known for their strength and size, their backs are not naturally designed to carry weight, as their spines extend upwards” explains Tom Taylor, Project Director at WFFT. “Constant pressure on their backbones from tourists can result in permanent physical damage, which can be seen in our resident Pai Lin”.
Skeleton of elephant showing their vertical spine. Credit: Royal Natural History Volume 2
Described as the grandma of WFFT’s elephant refuge, lucky Pai Lin, now around 71 years old, was rescued by the sanctuary back in 2007.
WFFT looks after Pai Lin along with 23 other elephants, who live happily in the sanctuary’s large elephant enclosures, which are up to 44 acres each and have natural trees, lakes and grazing areas. The rescue elephants each eat around 300kg of food every day.
The sanctuary is also home to over 700 other rescue animals, including primates, exotic birds, and tigers.
“Most of the rescued elephants at WFFT have experienced decades of abuse”, adds Taylor. “While we could never comprehend the trauma these animals have experienced in the past, at least they can now live the rest of their lives in peace at the sanctuary. We hope that these photos encourage tourists to do their research and support only ethical and sustainable elephant centres, while avoiding establishments that offer riding or other exploitative practices.”
Pai Lin happy in her home at WFFT’s elephant habitats. Credit: WFFT
Today it’s estimated there are around 3,000 domestic elephants in Thailand - most of them work in the tourism or logging industries. Meanwhile, in the wild, there are only around 2,200 individuals left, who live in open grasslands and dense rainforests spread over the country.
To help support WFFT’s work and the lifelong care for Pai Lin, visit www.wfft.org/donate.
Why are zoos under increased scrutiny? Listen to our podcast episode “Captivity Sucks”, where we speak with Devan Schowe, Campaigns Associate for Born Free USA, about her extensive work reporting on the suffering of giraffes in US zoos, and why captivity in general is so harmful for animals.
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