The number of “out of work” elephants that would once have worked in the logging industry in Thailand is becoming a headache in Bangkok’s urban jungle.
The number of ‘out of work’ elephants that would once have worked in the logging industry in Thailand is becoming a headache in Bangkok’s urban jungle Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
Most of the mahouts (elephant trainers) claim that there is not enough food in the countryside where they live to feed the elephants and that they have not been able to make a living growing rice to support their families Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
During the day the elephants, seemingly healthy and well fed, wander around the ruined townhouses. The mahouts sometimes wash them since most of them look like they’re painted white from rubbing up against the whitewashed walls Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
Many of the elephants use the abandoned housing complex as a playground. They walk in and out of the many rooms, some even climb stairs to the second floor Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
In Thailand, before there were modern vehicles, elephants were the taxis of the rich and used as tanks in battle. They are revered as national symbols and it is estimated that there are 3,800 domesticated elephants in Thailand today Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
The elephants are taken into Bangkok where they walk through traffic, on sidewalks and in residential neighbourhoods in search of people willing to pay to feed them bananas, sugarcane and sticks of bamboo Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com
Although it is illegal for elephants to enter the capital, the police mostly turn a blind eye to the elephants who often work a nine-hour day, returning home well after midnight Credit: (C) Brent Lewin/OnAsia.com