Interesting Facts About Elephants in Thailand

Well known to all is the fact that the largest living animal on land is the African elephant. The Asian elephant is substantially smaller, and has proportionally smaller ears, which is how most people tell them apart in photographs or on T.V., there are several other physical differences such as the shape of these magnificent beasts plus trunk, fingers and teeth. Many people also believe the Asian elephant to be far easier to use for labour and tourism with the African animal living mostly in herds in the wild or on nature reserves away from the risk of poachers. The belief that Asian elephants are easier to tame for work is probably due to the fact that the people of Asia have been catching and taming the animals for many years, made possible by their smaller size. These are just a few facts about elephants as there is so much more to these wonderful herbivorous pachyderms. Elephant facts are available in hundreds of locations both on the internet and in books. Children grow up learning that they are the biggest land animal, but are often not taught about the two different species. In fact, the species are so different that interbreeding them appears impossible, whereas it has been successfully done with tigers and lions.

The information available about elephants is so varied that one needs to carefully think about the reason for enquiry and the readers’ interest. For example, one child may just want to see how big these animals are compared to say a car or their father, whereas a mature student or scientist may want to know about elephants mating or their migratory habits.

The fact that they live in very sociable groups, controlled by a matriarch (elder female) and wander their habitats in constant search of the best sources of food and water is only of interest to a certain group of people. Other, more specific details are would probably be lost on a huge percentage of the typical audience. However, in recent years the awareness of global and environmental issues has produced more care and better teaching on such topics. It is certainly impossible to keep all readers interested and informed at once. In schools all over the world facts about elephants and other species facing threats to their survival and habitat are being taught to educate the next generations. To say that there are elephants endangered in both Africa and Asia would be fair, mainly due to deforestation and encroachment by humans into their enormous territories.

One thing is certain, though. So many people love spending time with these wonderful elephants in Thailand, due to their kind nature and the fact that you can ride one, touch one and look into its eyes, that more and more efforts are being made to protect them and their habitats. That is more than can be said for sharks, for example, which are responsible for far fewer human deaths per annum and are equally important, if not more so, to the earth’s food web.