CHIANG MAI - FEB 28 2006: An elephant and its mahout make their way down a trail in the backwoods of northern Thailand. With their numbers dropping at such an amazing rate, many experts fear the next few years may prove to be the breaking point for these revered animals. Asian elephants - strong, social, and intelligent - have been trained for thousands of years for use in transportation, labor, and ritual. In Thailand, Elephants are of immense cultural importance, but their numbers are shockingly plummeting. In 1905, there were over 100,000 elephants in this land - now they are estimated at less than 5,000, of which barely half are in the wild. (Photo by Logan Mock-Bunting)