A teenage elephant has died from exhaustion after giving back-to-back tourist rides in the relentless Sri Lankan heat.
The elephant, named Kanakota, collapsed after constantly walking with his legs shackled while carrying a heavy, painful seat on his back.
When they're babies, elephants are taken from their mothers - often in the wild. Because they are valuable for this purpose, not only are babies illegally captured, their protective mothers are also often killed as they try to save their calves.
Researchers have found that elephants who are subjected to this "breaking" or "crush" process often develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Photo / Moving Animals
"Training" begins immediately. Baby elephants are tied down and tortured with bullhooks until their spirits are broken and they're willing to obey their "trainers" to avoid pain.
Campaigners have said the "entirely preventable" death of the 18-year-old (healthy Asian elephants tend to live for 45-60 years) should be a wake-up call to people not to ride elephants.
Yet even now a quick search for #elephantrides on Instagram shows Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka, among other countries, keep up with the cruel practice.
More than 3,000 elephants — including calves — are held captive in elephant tourist-attraction "orphanages" and "parks" across Asia, and the number is growing, according to new findings from World Animal Protection.
Kanakota, a male, had spent the last four years giving rides along the busy paved streets of Sigirya, walking alongside rushing traffic.
For between NZ$30 and $50 each, tourists can ride elephants in a journey that lasts up to an hour.
Locals who witnessed his last few tragic hours said Kanakota did three trips in one day after an exhausting parade the previous evening.
Then, saddled for a fourth ride, he refused to move. The tourists were escorted out of the seat, then Kanakota laid down and never woke up.
Photo / Ape Rata
An investigation has been launched and while there is no official cause of death, campaigners have said the elephant died from exhaustion.
Their legs are chained and the soles of their feet are worn down by walking on the rough roads. Humans will sit on their backs in a seat that causes spinal damage to the elephant.
Because public awareness of cruelty to captive elephants has increased, many attractions are trying to dupe tourists by adding words such as "sanctuary," "rescue center," "refuge," and "retirement facility" to their names.
But the abusive training methods and deprivation are often the same.
Elephants are still tortured into compliance so they will follow the trainers' commands to let people ride, feed, touch, or bathe them.
What can you do?
Until tourists refuse to ride elephants, more of these gentle, sensitive, intelligent animals will suffer - you can help to spread awareness by sharing Kanakota's story.
Activists have been campaigning to enact a new animal welfare bill that will finally change the laws and offer animals the protection they need. You can voice your support by contacting the relevant officials. In this case, Sri Lankan officials.
