Don’t ride on an elephant
Tourists riding these majestic creatures are probably unaware that they are contributing to a cycle of torture.
Sitting on an elephant riding up a hill, many don’t realise the gentle giant below them has probably been extensively tortured in order to make that moment possible.
It often involves a process known as ‘‘crushing’’ – where an elephant’s spirit is broken so it will obey humans.
The process is brutal. Wild elephants, usually babies, are placed in a wooden cage, and then beaten – sometimes with nails. There are many other methods equally as gruesome, some involving sleep deprivation or starvation.
The torture doesn’t end there. Once the elephant is put to work, their handlers – known as mahouts – can use knifes, bullhooks or other sharp objects to discipline and control them. The elephants often have blankets over their heads to conceal the wounds from unsuspecting tourists.
I’m ashamed to say we spent the day riding an elephant in Thailand a few years ago. We had no idea any of this happened.
Since then, it seems travellers have started to become a lot more aware about the ethics of their selfie aboard an elephant.
That is at least what I thought, until I saw more than 50 elephants lined up in India, ready for busloads of tourists to arrive.
Jaipur is one of the most visited cities in India, and its incredible 15thcentury Amer Fort – with its sandstone and marble palace – the star attraction. You can walk the winding path up to the entrance on foot, or line up with dozens of other tourists and take an elephant.
Elephant riding is still so popular at the fort, in peak season almost 100 elephants arrive every morning ready for rides up the hill. Some limp and many have wounds on their heads. They walk in searing heat, with some developing sores on their feet because they’re not designed to stand on hot concrete all day.
While the fort was breathtaking (apart from scores of elephants trudging up the hill) our best experience in all of India was just a short distance away.
Wildlife SOS is trying to turn around India’s use of captive elephants. It has rescued 20, all with injuries from torture.
We met Asha, recovering from decades of abuse – her limp and the scars on her head were a glimpse into the life she once lived.
She had been performing in a circus and carrying tourists up the Amer Fort for 46 years, until she became so injured she had to stop.
Her owner didn’t let her retire, despite not being able to bend her leg causing incredible pain. Instead, she was sold to be a begging elephant. That’s where she was used on the street to attract tourists for money. There, she was constantly tied up with a spike chain – digging into her legs and causing bad abscesses.
Wildlife SOS was alerted, and were able to rescue her.
We have visited sanctuaries that use the name merely to attract tourists, not because they are motivated by the welfare of their elephants.
But at Wildlife SOS the care is genuine and infectious.
All of their elephants have suffered brutal torture, and require a lot of attention. Some have to eat soft fruits, because they have no teeth. Others need special handling because they are mentally disturbed or blind.
If there was no demand from tourists for elephant riding, it simply wouldn’t happen. Spending an afternoon at a sanctuary helping elephants trust humans again is an infinitely better experience than riding one up a hill.
Yet we were the only tourists at the elephant sanctuary, while 40 minutes down the road, at the Amer Fort, people were queuing under the hot sun to ride one up a hill.
It’s a sad reflection of just how much more work needs to be done to educate people that riding elephants makes them part of the torture. Last year Brook Sabin and his partner Radha Engling quit their jobs and sold everything to travel. Each week Kiwis in Flight takes you on their adventures. See