Why do scientists advise tourists not to ride elephants, and what are the scary things about elephan

If you have the opportunity to travel to Thailand, many of you will participate in a very interesting project, which is "elephant riding, and in our impression, the elephant seems to be a very gentle animal. However, many researchers say that elephant riding is not recommended for tourists to travel to Thailand. This is because the elephant is actually a very "grudge-bearing" animal, and because the elephant has a long life span and a high IQ, even after 10 years, the elephant will find an opportunity to take revenge.

Why is elephant riding not recommended?

Elephants are behemoths, and for us, they are very large. In some scenic spots, many friends have ridden horses, camels and other animals, and may think that since the elephant looks very strong, it can naturally bear more weight, but in fact, this is not the case.

Studies have found that the spine of elephants is very fragile, and adult elephants can only bear a maximum weight of about 300 catties. In many scenic spots in Thailand, these elephants are carrying multiple tourists at a time and working at least four hours a day, which has caused their spines to be severely deformed.

What's even more unexpected is that these elephants, which seem to have gentle personalities, were actually domesticated by humans. Many of the elephants that tourists ride are trained from a young age and are subjected to cruel treatment. For example, in order to make the elephant obedient, the mahout lion will put the elephant in a small cramped cage, and then tie it with iron chains, and will not have enough food or water every day, until the elephant's spirit is completely broken, and they will become very obedient.

Why do elephants "hold grudges"?

Elephants that have been abused by mahinghamed lions since they were young are so intelligent that their abuses are also deeply remembered in their minds. Many elephants have been tested by zoologists and found to be suffering from severe depression and other mental illnesses.

And some elephants choose to take revenge on humans when they can't control it.

Let's say in some news reports.

, you will see news such as the originally docile elephant throwing a tourist down, which is actually an act of revenge by elephants against humans. Once, out of curiosity, an elephant stuck its trunk through a window into a Thai man's house, and when the man saw it, he pricked the elephant with a needle. Twenty years later, the elephant found this man again through his own memory and judgment, and took revenge on him.

In addition, the elephant is a very united animal. If an elephant's companion is killed, they will band together to get revenge. In 2002, Nepal.

There was an incident in which an elephant took revenge on a human. According to the information, a villager killed an elephant at that time, but unexpectedly, the elephant herd rushed to the village, and a total of 13 villagers were killed by the elephant. From this, it can be seen that elephants are actually not easy to mess with at all.

It's not that there is anything scary about elephants, it's because elephants' spines can't bear the weight of people, and it's for the sake of elephants' health.

If there is a chance to travel to Thailand, many friends will take part in a very interesting project, namely "Elephant Ride", which seems to us to be a very gentle animal. However, many researchers say that if you travel to Thailand, it is not recommended for tourists to go elephant riding. This is because the elephant is actually a very "catchy" animal, and due to the elephant's long life span and high IQ, the elephant will find an opportunity for revenge even after 10 years.

The large size of elephants can create the illusion that they are bulky, slow-moving, and not agile enough to run. But all terrestrial mammals larger than the human body are faster than humans.

Elephants have thick limbs, not fast steps, and large steps, and they can reach a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour, which can be compared to Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet to run 100 meters. Don't panic when you encounter it head-on in the wild, elephants generally do not take the initiative to attack humans, first observe whether the elephant has offensive intentions, when the elephant rolls up its trunk and opens its ears on behalf of it is angry, it is very likely to attack people. At this time, you should run to the nearest tree and climb it, wait for the elephant to leave before coming down, or climb up a steep slope and find a large rock and cover to take shelter, because the elephant will take a detour when it encounters obstacles.

In response to the recent reports that elephants have been abused and miserable in Thailand's tourism industry, and even called for a boycott of "elephant tourism", Thai industry insiders have spoken out that "elephant tourism" is an important part of Thailand's tourism industry, and that a simple boycott cannot improve the living environment of elephants, and strengthening the supervision and legislation of target camps is an effective solution.

Matana, an elephant expert who has worked for Thailand's National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Agency, said there are about 4,000 domestic elephants and about 3,500 wild elephants in Thailand. As Thailand's forests have shrunk dramatically, the wild elephant population has reached saturation and it is impossible to release domestic elephants back into the wild, and even if they do, they are not viable. Domesticating elephants is quite expensive in terms of manpower, land and management, and without the support of tourism, it will be even more difficult for domestic elephants to survive.

Lot, a well-known Thai veterinarian, said that a balanced diet, proper shelter, a good rest environment and perfect medical care are all necessary conditions for the healthy growth of elephants. Unlike wild elephants, most of the elephants in the camp are domestic, and they need to be cared for by their mahouts, need food, and more importantly, an environment to get along with people. Elephant expert Mattana believes that strengthening the supervision of target camps, improving the treatment of mahouts and elephant taming skills, imposing heavy penalties for animal cruelty, and establishing a safety and health certification system for elephant camps are effective solutions.