Elephant trekking is a popular tourist activity in areas where wild elephants once lived, but it is increasingly difficult for Asian elephants to exist in the wild due to human activities. Some companies mistreat their elephants, but others use their profits to create a safe home for the animals. Tourists should research companies before choosing one.
Many people are intrigued by the elephant, an exotic and increasingly rare creature. The public fascination with elephants has made elephant trekking a popular tourist activity in places that were once home to wild elephants and even in some places where elephants had never walked before. Elephant trekking trips take guests on a tour through the forest to one destination: on elephants. The activity combines traditional sightseeing with the excitement of an elephant ride.
Elephant trekking is especially popular on the island of Phuket in Thailand. Originally, the elephants lived in Northern Thailand but were brought to Phuket due to the high volume of tourism there. The island has about a dozen elephant trekking camps. They have more than 150 elephants and the government has banned the importation of elephants to the island to prevent overpopulation. Most of the elephants used in elephant trekking are females because they are gentler than males.
It is increasingly difficult for Asian elephants to exist in the wild because their habitats are decreasing due to human activities such as logging and agriculture. Some illegal loggers capture wild elephants and use them to transport timber. They can only carry about 600 pounds (about 272 kg), but loggers force them to bear more weight and work them to exhaustion. Those that remain free may still be in danger: Elephants naturally forage for forest products, so they scavenge for food on the developed lands that have displaced their forests. Some have been poisoned by pineapple farmers, who view elephants as crop-destroying pests.
The companies responsible for elephant trekking use their profits to support their elephants, creating a safe home for animals that are endangered in the wild. They keep the elephants in comfortable environments with plenty of food, allowing them to graze in their off hours just as they would in the wild. Elephants stay away from the dangers of capture and poison and can develop relationships with their handlers.
There are, however, some operations that mistreat their elephants. The use of a metal hook to control animals, although abhorred by animal rights activists, is legal in some places where elephant trekking is popular, such as Thailand. Some elephant managers ignore the natural behaviors of elephants, keeping them out of the forest cover they naturally seek and forcing them to work long hours. In Phuket, the government has tried to curb these practices by introducing mandatory health checks and regulations for elephants. Prospective tourists can show their respect for the animals they wish to see by researching elephant trekking companies in the area they wish to visit and choosing a company that treats its animals well.
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