Elephants are a common attraction across many forms of tourism – but the way these brilliant, intelligent animals are trained is often nothing short of inhumane.
The hours that they are demanded to work are also often cruel and exhausting.
A Filipino tourist and teacher based in Myanmar, took a video a baby elephant calf collapsing in tiredness at the Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens located in Sukhumvit Road, Chonburi Province, in eastern Thailand.
The video, which has since gone viral, has shocked watchers across the world.
Temperatures in the region at the time hit 104 °F, making the conditions extremely hot and tiring for the animals.
A baby elephant had been attempting to follow behind its mother as they collected and carried tourists.
Like many other young elephants, it was tethered to its mother and had no choice but to follow along.
The heat eventually got to the calf, who collapsed, rolling over into the ground from high levels of fatigue.
It was slowly able to struggle to its feet again, but it was clear that it was suffering greatly as it attempted to follow behind its mother.
The mother elephant, meanwhile, tried to do all she could to provide support to her baby, attempting to encourage it to stand again each time it fell.
The tourist took the video out of concern for the baby elephant and was horrified by what she saw.
She has since stated that she just wants these elephants to be properly cared for and looked after, and she shared the image on social media.
Since then, angry animal-lovers and others have expressed their anger at the situation.
Many individuals criticized the way the elephants are handled and treated, with even more blaming tourists for patronizing and making use of these cruel and inhumane services.
Some spoke about how it would be as simple as allowing the babies to rest away from the hot sun.
https://youtu.be/2JE1HEX-zKA
The Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens said in a statement from their spokesman that the elephant depicted in the video was not actually exhausted, adding that none of their animals is mistreated.
He stated that all their animals are well-looked-after and that they are all healthy and happy, with vets available whenever they are ill.
Unfortunately, elephant abuse is far from uncommon, especially in Thailand.
Dumbo, a three-year-old elephant putting on three performances daily in a Phuket show, passed away recently after his extremely malnourished body led to the snapping of his legs during a performance.
