
Tawan Riverside – Elephant Resort
202 Moo 9
T. Mae Win – A. Mae Wang
Chiang Mai 50360
Tel. : +66 (0)61 653 1595
The 13 elephants in the resort belong to the Bunpun Elephant Camp. The older ones worked in the jungle to move tree trunks before Mr Boonpanbuntham, a native Thai of Mae Wang, owner of the camp, rescued them in 1990. Duang Dee, Taeng Mo, Chai Lai, Kham Kaew and Tawan are all born here.
The 10 mahouts are from the Karen hill tribe, the traditional elephant handlers of Northern Thailand.
Before your visit, we want to clarify some points to avoid misunderstanding:
• Our elephants are captive animals for tourist use, and the activities we offer are the best solution we have to feed them (250 kg per day for an adult). We have 13 elephants, meaning they eat more tha two tonnes of food every day.
• We don’t have the means to build a sufficiently large and resistant enclosure, so we have to chain them after 16:30. We can’t let them roam free for security reasons.
• We try, despite these constraints, to give them the most pleasant environment. The first thing is to ban riding with cradles. Only mahouts are allowed to ride elephants bareback. The second is to leave them in semi-liberty as much as possible during the day without chains, and the third is to offer suitable activities for their well-being.
The elephant tourism industry came about because we already had elephants in captivity. They’ve been in captivity for a very long time and can’t just be released, so we have to find a way to feed them. Housing elephants have cost, and tourism is the only legal form of work for elephants and their owner to earn some income. Without work in tourism, Thai elephant owners will have no means to care for their animals. 95% of captive elephants in Thailand, or around 3,400, are privately owned which means that tourism is their only future. Boycotting them is ignorant and dangerous. What should happen is more exposure which will lead to pressure to set and maintain standards of care.
Like horses, buffaloes, oxen and camels, elephants have been domesticated for thousands of years. Campaigners rarely object to the use of draught horses or camels, horse riding or racing, unless there are clear animal welfare concerns, when education and encouragement generally offer the best solutions. The same standards should apply to elephants.
The activities we offer are the best solution we have to feed them (250 kg per elephant per day, give them exercise and stimulation. We cannot leave them free for security reasons, so they are chained every night, because we do not have the means to build a sufficiently large and resistant enclosure. We try despite these constraints to give them the most pleasant environment possible, the first thing is to ban elephant riding with cradles, only mahouts are allowed to ride elephants bareback. The second is to leave them in semi-liberty as much as possible during the day.
The Elephant FAQ comes from the ‘Asian Captive Elephant Working Group’, this is a non-profit group, not in any way affiliated to any interest and their experts are highly regarded on an international level in their fields. It was formed in 2015 by a group of elephant specialists, veterinarians, researchers, camp managers and conservationists to address the current situation for captive elephants in the tourism industry in South-East Asia. If you want to know more about them, you can visit their website www.asianelephantresearch.com/
Asian elephants have had a relationship with humans for some 4,000 years. Historically, elephants were used as beasts of burden, for logging, as war mounts, ceremonial animals or simply kept as a status symbol. These elephants were mostly captured as wild animals by professional elephant catchers who then trained and either kept them or traded them to others for a specific use.
It is now illegal to capture Asian elephants from the wild outside exceptional conditions and with Government sanction. As a result, elephants are now being bred in captivity to maintain captive populations. However, illegal capturing and trading of wild elephants is still ongoing, which is why laws and regulations are so important to ensure these practices do not continue.
Please check that camps have policies in place to ensure they are not encouraging wild capture, and that all elephants are legally registered.
In an ideal world, all elephants would be free in nature. However, due to human population increases and habitat destruction, the reality is there is not enough appropriate habitat to support current wild populations of Asian elephants. Let alone reintroduce the existing population – upwards of 15,000 in Asia – of captive elephants.
Furthermore, it is a complex process to reintroduce captive elephants back into the wild. In addition to lack of habitat, released captive born elephants can increase human elephant conflict. Indeed, they are used to interacting with and are not afraid of humans. Additionally, captive elephants may carry diseases that, if contact is allowed, can potentially spread to wild populations.
Captive elephants can serve as a means of maintaining important populations as ‘insurance’ against environmental or human-caused changes. Up close and personal contact with captive elephants, especially when accompanied by educational materials, also can help inspire the public to care for elephants and their habitats.
Chaining is an important part of managing elephants where there are no enclosures to contain the animals. Chains are the simplest and safest tool to confine these large and potentially dangerous animals to a specific area. Because they can be more difficult to control, male elephants often have permanent chains around their ankles to provide a safe and quick means to control them if necessary. If done properly and with appropriate tools, many forms of restraint are not harmful to the animal. A chain of sufficient length is important because it not only allows elephants to interact with one another but also allows them to find space alone. Unrelated elephants do not always get along, and aggressive individuals can be dangerous to other elephants, sometimes fatally so. From a management perspective, using long chains to tether the elephant at night rather than fencing allows the elephant to be moved and allows them access to fresh browse. Fences are often unreliable and, if not constructed properly, can be dangerous to the elephants themselves. Satisfactory alternatives to chaining, like cement or steel structures, are very expensive and are, therefore, financially not possible and impractical for most elephant tourism operations in Asia.
How much weight can an elephant carry on its back?
Studies have not been done on elephants; however, in horses, dogs and donkeys, the weight-carrying capacity is about 20-25% of their body weight, which equates to over 600 kg for an average-sized elephant weighing about 3,000 kg. Furthermore, the front and rear long
bones of elephants are particularly strong because they do not have a bone marrow cavity
but instead have a dense bone structure. The weight of one person without a saddle (less than 3% of body weight) would hardly be noticed.
It’s a tool developed over thousands of years to allow a mahout to get an elephant’s attention in an emergency … or to ensure safety. Not carrying a hook is dangerous for both the elephant and any people around. The hook can be misused or used purely for punishment, which is not its intended use, which is generally to be tapped onto pressure points. It is a simple matter of looking at the foreheads of elephants for signs of hook abuse; if there are no scars, then this is a non-issue.
Every captive elephant must have some training to allow it to understand common verbal commands and to accept veterinary treatment. Not to train an elephant under human care would be irresponsible. In the days of wild capture, the elephant was often tamed using very harsh techniques. But such methods are thankfully much less common today.
Today, captive born elephants grow up with and around humans and often begin their training soon after birth. Attitudes are changing and more owners are recognizing the benefits of ethical training methods.
Elephant performances, if done properly using positive training techniques, are not bad for elephants. Ethical, well managed and properly scripted animal presentations can have benefits to the animal’s health. Indeed, they provide a form of exercise and mental stimulation. Many elephants readily participate in these activities because they are rewarded with favored food and attention.
In captivity, most elephants have become accustomed to people. They have learned that people bring rewards, such as food treats. Even some wild elephants will interact with people in return for kindness or food – though this can be very dangerous. Some elephants seem to enjoy being part of a social group, even if that group includes humans. Other elephants are wary of people. All elephants should be approached with caution and never without the mahout present.
It is difficult to determine if animals are truly ‘happy’ or ‘sad’, as their emotional states are not exactly like those of humans. Still, there are certain behaviors that display a state of emotion that can be related to happiness. For example, the display of exploratory or playful behaviors is a good sign that an elephant has good welfare. Happy elephants are probably best observed when kept in compatible social groups. Look for elephants that touch and comfort each other. Check out what each other is eating, play during bath time and vocalize a variety of greetings. These are examples of contented elephants.
Tawan Riverside – Elephant Resort
202 Moo 9
T. Mae Win – A. Mae Wang
Chiang Mai 50360
Tel. : +66 (0)61 653 1595