It is without a doubt that elephants are one of the most magnificent creatures we share this planet with. Unfortunately, their lives and well being have been on the line for quite some time now.

At an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai

First off, there are two main types of elephants -- the Asian elephant and the African elephant. Thailand is home to the Indian elephant which is a subspecies of the Asian elephant.

One of the main distinctions between the two is the overall size of the elephant. African elephants tend to be significantly larger, which is unimaginable seeing how large the elephants I got to encounter during a trip to Thailand. Another common trait to notice the elephants origin is by looking at the size of its ears. It is said that the African elephants ears are usually larger but also similar to the or shape of Africa on the map while Asian elephants ears are more recognizable to the shape of India.

Photo from http://africanelephantinfo.weebly.com/their-family.html

In Thailand, elephants are prominent members of society. While being the national animal of Thailand, it also holds strong historical and cultural significance. Historically elephants have been used for many different purposes. Transport, heavy labor, and tourism to name a few. But probably the most iconic use was that of war elephants. India was the first to start using elephants for the purpose of propelling attacks forward by elephants charging at the opponents.

Photo taken at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Overtime in more recent years the exploitation of elephants in Thailand had drastically increased causing the number of wild elephants to plummet. Elephants officially became endangered animals in 1986 but it wasn't until 1993 that conservation efforts began to take place. The National Elephant Institute was created and soon after more and more organizations were developing to help these endangered animals.

One of the main ways that elephants are exploited today is through elephant tourism. I'm sure you've seen the photos on social media of so and so riding on top of an elephants back during a trip to Southeast Asia. But I wouldn't be so quick to jump on that bandwagon.

Why is it wrong to ride elephants if that was once their main use you might ask?

Although elephants are so large and strong, their spine isn't actually built to carry the weight of a human. This might be surprising to most but just by taking a deeper look at how they are built, it will become more evident.

Me at an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai

Sadly, the majority of elephant tourism within Thailand is, in my opinion, a very greedy and corrupt industry. Most people while traveling here don't know much about the practices used for elephant tourism ad most don't know about the elephants physiology as well. These elephants are most often tortured in order to perform such asks that the elephant handler requires. While they may appear to be "roaming freely" in the park, that isn't necessarily the case behind the scenes. Typically they are chained by the feet when off duty and living in horrible conditions with poor medical care.

Imagine trying to jump on the back of an elephant in the wild. My guess is that the elephant wouldn't be having it. In order for this industry to be successful, elephants need to be tamed in order to be ridden. This brutal process starts when they are babies. Most often after being illegally captured these baby elephants are beaten to submission, pierced and starved for days at a time in order for them to perform how the handler wants. Now who would want to contribute to that?!

At an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai

Luckily, there are now more and more options to visit this amazing animal up close in an ethical manner. Mainly in the Northern regions of Thailand there are Elephant Sanctuaries that rescue these animals and take very good care of them. Through researching different Elephant Sanctuaries you'll find out which ones are trustworthy and which ones are not. If you see a picture of someone riding an elephant, run away from that as fast as possible!

One of the most well known is the Elephant Nature Park in the South-West region of Chiang Mai. Founded by Lek Chailert, this is a nature park that offers many different options for visiting these giants. Even overnight stays to spend more quality time with them! Through watching videos of Lek with her elephants you can quickly see that she loves these animals and it is her mission to protect them. Along with visiting the sanctuary she also has many different projects you can get involved in or even sponsorin an elephant that lives in her park! You can find more about the Elephant Nature Park here - http://www.saveelephant.org

For more info on the subject, check out these great links:

http://www.earsasia.org/tourism
http://www.greenthailand.co.uk/green-tourism/ethical-elephant-experiences-thailand/
http://www.iexplore.com/destinations/thailand/Ethical-Elephant-Sanctuaries-in-Thailand