海角大神

The history of people and elephants here goes back聽thousands of years. Centuries ago, Thai kings聽rode these giants into battle. Elephants were used聽in harvesting timber until Thailand banned logging in聽national forests in 1989, prompting many owners to聽turn to tourism.

Then came the dramatic halt caused by the pandemic.聽Elephants are expensive to keep (they can eat more than聽300 pounds of food a day). Most elephant attractions聽closed their doors, and many elephant owners 鈥� who聽rented out their animals to tourism operators 鈥� brought聽them back to their villages, some walking聽along the road for days.

As tourism rebounds, many elephants have聽been brought back to work, renewing concerns about how to properly care for them.

At parks like ChangChill, operators believe聽that captive elephants are best cared for when聽they don鈥檛 interact with tourists. This means聽setting out food for the elephants and letting聽visitors observe them from a distance.聽

Others, like Patara Elephant Farm and聽Thai Elephant Home, believe riding and bathing the elephants is not harmful as long as聽the animals鈥� health is monitored and they鈥檙e聽not overworked.聽Either way, the industry around Thailand鈥檚聽nearly 4,000 captive elephants is changing.聽鈥淚 want to see standards that elephant聽camps follow to ensure that all the elephants聽have good welfare,鈥� says Dr. Pakkanut Bansiddhi, lecturer at the Department of Companion聽Animals and Wildlife Clinics at Chiang Mai聽University. 鈥淭he tourist or any travel organization could聽use this set of standards to guide them to where to go.鈥�

Editor's note: This photo essay was produced with support from the Round聽Earth Media program of the International Women鈥檚聽Media Foundation. Porntawan Maneechote contributed聽reporting.

JOANNA JOHNSON

Thai tourists bathe 6-year-old elephant Gao in a river at Patara Elephant Farm. As elephant tourism has rebounded, so has the debate surrounding it.

JOANNA JOHNSON

Foreign tourists ride elephants alongside their mahouts, or elephant keepers, through a forest at Patara Elephant Farm.

JOANNA JOHNSON

A mahout reassures an elephant, Mainuri, at Thai Elephant Home, where tourist interaction is allowed, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

JOANNA JOHNSON

Foreign tourists observe an elephant in a gazebo at Patara Elephant Farm. Some farms, though not Patara, have banned tourist-elephant interaction.

JOANNA JOHNSON

An elephant helps her mahout onto her back at Patara Elephant Farm.