Jumbo attraction lures tourists

Press, 26 October 1989, Page 32

Jumbo attraction lures tourists

Elephants still play an important role in rural Thailand, in spite of the fact that their numbers have diminished considerably over the last 150 years.

Today there are only about 5000 domesticated elephants in Thailand, and they live mostly in the northern and southern regions where there are still forests to sustain them. Nearly all are owned by private individuals, with a small percentage kept by the Government’s Forest Industry Organisation. In accord with their declining numbers, the elephants — especially those trained to work in the forests — have become valuable. Twenty years ago, a trained beast would have cost about 6000 baht ($350), but today prices can start

from 80,000 baht ($5000) — proof that working elephants are far from obsolete. The number of wild elephants in Thailand can only be estimated, probably somewhere between 2500 and 4500. The last legal capture of wild beasts was in the early 19705, after which such activities were banned for conservation reasons.

The dwindling number in Thailand today is a sad reminder of the glorious past. A hundred years ago, for instance, more than 20,000 were used in transport alone, while at the turn of the century the number of domesticated elephants was known to exceed 100,000. Fifty years later, Government statistics showed that barely more than 13,000 remained.

This sad decline can also be expressed

in the ratio of elephants to people: in 1850, for instance, the ratio was about 50 people to one elephant. Since then, however, the human population has increased ten-fold while the elephant number is barely a twentieth of what it was 140 years ago. One of the best places to see elephants in reasonable numbers is in the Chiang Mai province, where about 500 are still used for work. Many tours include a visit to the rivers where the giant grey animals are bathed daily. Elephants and their trainers also have their special day each year towards the end of November when 200 or more gather at Surin, north-east of Bangkok, to entertain and compete. The show begins with a parade and usually lasts all day. Special tours are available.