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Asian Elephant Diminishing Numbers

Bangkok, Thailand - FEB 17 2006: A young elephant almost collides with a car on the streets of Bangkok. The official reason "domesticated" elephants are illegal in cities is because they are involved in so many traffic accidents. City life is terrible for the elephant - they can eat between 250 - 525 pounds of food a day in the wild - about six to eight percent of their own body weight in vegetation each day. To accomplish this, they spend as many as 18 hours per day feeding. These massive animals can drink 26 gallons (100 liters) of water at one time and, when thirsty, more than 55 gallons (208 liters) within minutes. Obviously, city life is not friendly to these needs. 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)

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Copyright
2006 Logan Mock-Bunting
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Disappearing Asian Elephants
Bangkok, Thailand - FEB 17 2006: A young elephant almost collides with a car on the streets of Bangkok. The official reason "domesticated" elephants are illegal in cities is because they are involved in so many traffic accidents. City life is terrible for the elephant - they can eat between 250 - 525 pounds of food a day in the wild - about six to eight percent of their own body weight in vegetation each day. To accomplish this, they spend as many as 18 hours per day feeding. These massive animals can drink 26 gallons (100 liters) of water at one time and, when thirsty, more than 55 gallons (208 liters) within minutes. Obviously, city life is not friendly to these needs. 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)
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