As ecotourism grows in popularity, it is vitally important that the traveler makes the time and effort to support sustainable and responsible organizations and activities.  Elephant rides have become a controversial subject as tourism becomes ever more popular in places like Thailand, India, and Myanmar.

We believe the below article presents this subject from the point of good science and good husbandry, and offers thoughts for consideration when traveling Asia and considering including an elephant ride as part of one's experience.

Elephant Riding:  The Facts 
By Belynda Zolotto

The Asian Elephant is a critically endangered species, facing a very high risk of extinction. For the Thai Asian Elephant, the primary cause of this is habitat loss. The forests and grasslands needed to support a population of elephants have been disseminated by human activity and simply no longer exist. Domesticated elephants are the answer to creating a sustainable future for Thai elephants but providing a supportive environment for elephants in an elephant village or camp/centre requires money. For the Royal Elephant Kraal Village, like other such dedicated, protective centres, tourism is an important source of income. Providing an ethical and humane riding experience for visitors is critical if their programs are to be continued in the long term.

Recently claims have been circulating on the internet and media, maintaining that this practice is damaging for the elephants, even cruel. The Royal Elephant Kraal Village (the Kraal) strongly disputes this assertion and this article sets out some of the facts, and the myths, to demonstrate that elephants are well able to easily carry the weight of humans on their backs. The Kraal has gone to great lengths to ensure that the elephants in its care are well-treated, that their participation in the riding program is beneficial, and that the equipment used for rides is well designed and comfortable for the elephant.

The emotive claims against the practice liken the experience of carrying people on the elephant’s back to a human carrying a 50 lb backpack for nine hours a day and purport that it will lead to permanent spinal injuries. Instead of making exaggerated comparisons between the human experience and that of animal’s in order to appeal to people’s emotions, always a risky exercise, let’s look at the facts.

The article referenced above states that an elephant giving rides is equivalent to a human carrying around 50 lb for 9 hours a day. In this instance, the ratio of weight of the backpack being carried to an average human body weight of 165 lb would be 30.3%.

Note that, to the elephant’s advantage, this is not an equal comparison, as humans are bipedal and elephants are quadrupeds, making the dispersion of the extra weight more stable and balanced for the elephant.

So, if the weight of a human is 165 lb and the weight of a male elephant is 11032 lb, then the weight of the human on top of the elephant would be equal to 1.5% of the elephant’s body weight. The elephant is actually only carrying what would be for a human the equivalent of 0.76 lb on his back, a lot less than the 50 lb backpack. With regard to the weight of a female elephant, averaging 5953 lb, the human weight of 165 lb would be equal to 2.8% of the female elephant’s weight. The elephant is actually only carrying what would be for a human the equivalent of 5 lb on her back. Hardly strenuous considering that the average weight of a woman’s handbag is between 10 and 22 lb!

An elephant can carry up to 25% of its body weight without causing any discomfort or pressure to its body or spine.

Instead of unverified assertions, let’s look at the facts regarding the weight that an elephant at Elephantstay and the weight that an elephant at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace/Wang Chang (the Royal Elephant Kraal’s tourist centre) carries as a comparison of its body weight. Table 1.1 below sets out the weight of the elephants at Elephantstay, the average weight of the mahout, and the average weight of Elephantstay participants and shows the weight percentage to the elephant’s body weight.

However, at Wang Chang, in addition to the mahout and the tourist(s), the elephant is also carrying a yang (chair/howdah) and blankets/padding. Table 1.2 below provides the combined weight of the following: a yang, blankets/padding, mahout, and two male tourists (allowing a few extra kilograms to the average weight of humans).

Table 1.2: Weights associated with giving rides at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace (Wang Chang)

Yang Blankets/padding Mahout Tourist x 1 Tourist x 2 Total 44 lb 44 lb 143 lb 198 lb 198 lb 627 lb

Now, let’s look at Rumruay, as one of the lightest elephants in weight at the Kraal, as an example. Her weight equals 4588 lb and 25% of her body weight is 1147 lb. The 527 lb combined weight that she would be carrying during a typical ride is considerably less than the 25% of her body weight that she is capable of carrying without discomfort or pressure on her body and/or spine.

Table 1.3 below makes the same comparison for the other elephants at the Kraal showing that they carry a fraction of the amount that they are physically capable of carrying.

As well as providing an exciting experience for the human passengers, the elephants benefit from the practice of elephant rides. Riding provides socialisation, stimulation, and exercise. The Kraal’s pregnant elephants give rides and have produced 58 successful births which is also a testament to the benefits of riding. Wang Chang has been designed as a model for how to provide ethical elephant tourist rides. Elephants at the centre are not giving rides all day but sporadically throughout the working day. The elephants that give rides work on a rotational basis which ensures that they can rest in between each ride. Rides are between 10 to 30 minutes in duration and on flat ground with running water available along the walk for the elephants to refresh themselves. They are provided with shelter, food and water for drinking and showering throughout the day. Misters are used in the elephant rest area, to create a cool and comfortable environment. All elephants are given rostered days off from working at Wang Chang providing rides.

The Kraal’s yangs have been specifically designed to be as light as possible for the elephants. The thickness of the blankets/padding provides a cushion to ensure that the yang is not rubbing directly on the elephant’s skin or causing friction and irritation to the elephant. The yang’s frame sits on either side of the elephant’s back to ensure there is no direct pressure on the elephant’s spine, a practice followed by many other centres in Thailand.

The Royal Elephant Kraal Village and Wang Chang work closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand in relation to their promotional videos as they want to promote elephants that are healthy, humanely treated and have an excellent standard of care. This high standard of care and treatment (and also safety) is widely recognised. The Thai Royal Palace frequently sends VIP visitors, including visiting royalty from other countries, to Wang Chang to view, interact with, and ride the elephants.

The Kraal’s elephants come from many different backgrounds and have many different histories, some we know of and others we don’t. There is nothing that we can do about their pasts, but we can provide them with a safe haven of love, care, food, exercise, and stimulation and a future that is far better than their past. Not all elephants in Thailand have been put through the “crush” or “breaking of their spirit” in order to be able to let humans ride them. A UN report on “crush” and other training techniques quoted Gone Astray, stating, “An elephant born in captivity is brought up amongst human beings and its training is humane from the day it begins; but a wild beast parted from the herd and its mother must suffer agonies before its will is broken.” The breeding program at the Kraal allows for human/elephant interaction from the moment they are born. They learn to trust and bond with humans and relationships form and grow. Positive reinforcement and food is used with all training techniques, including training to be ridden.

Before jumping to conclusions about the effect of the elephant ride program on the elephants, consider the facts and make an informed decision regarding your participation. Facts and mathematics indicate that the practice of providing elephant rides is neither strenuous for the elephant nor damaging to the elephant’s back and/or spine. Additionally, our experience and anecdotal evidence suggests that the elephants benefit in many ways from giving rides.

I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the following colleagues in the preparation of this article: Narelle McGlusky; Ewa Narkiewicz; Michelle Reedy; and Jonathan Phipps.

1. See Responsible Travel Tales, < http://journals.worldnomads.com/responsible-travel/story/81053/Thailand/Why-Elephant-Riding-Should-Be-Removed-from-Your-Bucket-List>, accessed 4 August 2014.
2. This figure is extrapolated from studies on the weight carrying ability of horses. A recent study testing previous theories regarding the weight carrying ability of horses by the Ohio States University Agricultural Technical Institute confirmed that the collective weight of rider and gear should not exceed 20% of the total weight of the horse. (Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, vol. 28, no. 1 (2008), pp. 28-33). Considering the more robust anatomical structure of elephants, the figure for these animals is usually estimated at 25% of the elephant’s body weight. 3. Elephantstay elephant weight statistics taken June 2013, Ayutthaya, Thailand. 4. An average weight has been used for mahout body weights.
5. USA average human body weights have been used for calculations as Americans are one of the heaviest in the world, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr010.pdf>, accessed 6 August 2014.
6. Elephant weight statistics taken June 2013, September 2013 and April 2014, Ayutthaya, Thailand. 7. An average weight has been used for mahout body weights. 8. USA average human body weights have been used for calculations as Americans are one of the heaviest in the world, <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr010.pdf>, accessed 4 August 2014. Note: the vast majority of tourists at Wang Chang are Japanese, lowering the percentage even further. 9. UN report, Gone Astray: The Care and Management of the Asian Elephant in Domesticity, http://www.fao.org/3/contents/ae165984-7121-5959-9e9e-3fab81ea9a82/ac774e00.htm, accessed 4 September 2014.

Many thanks to Elephantstay and their staff for sharing their riding program statistics with us.