For thousands of years, the elephant has played a significant role in the history and cultures of Southeast Asia. Used in transport, construction, and war, the elephant, much like the domesticated horse in the Western world, is credited with helping build many Asian countries like Thailand while at the same time defending them from marauding invaders over the centuries.
Today, however, the Asian elephant is critically endangered and Thailand’s population is estimated at no more than 5,000 domestic and wild elephants. Since logging was officially “banned” in 1988 (illegal logging still takes place on the Myanmar border where elephants are fed large doses of meta-amphetamines like crystal-meth so that they work for days on end), many domesticated elephants have become “out-of work” with nowhere to go. For wild elephants their plight is even more serious, because there is not enough jungle to sustain existing populations.
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