General Informationen about Pattaya

Elephants are extremely fascinating and intelligent living beings. Their habitat were once the forests of Thailand. Unfortunately there are not many elephants left living in the wild. Ele-phants were also always used as working animals: in earlier years as war elephants and later ironically as useful helpers in logging the forests. Since logging was prohibited by law in 1989 most of the elephants and mahouts which worked in that particular sector became unem-ployed. Today many elephants and their handlers find a new livelihood in the tourism indus-try. But please not as nightly tourist attraction in the streets of Pattaya!

If you encounter mahouts with their elephant - especially at night- walking the streets of Pattaya, who offer you some fodder to buy to be fed to the accompanying animal, always refuse to buy! This begging may result in tragic consequences for the animal and human beings: elephants are easily freightend by loud noise, which may make them to panic, there is always a great danger for the elephants walking on urban terrain to get injured on the very sensitve sole of the feet by discarded sharp objects such as broken glas or tin cans, but also constantly walking on hot paved streets can have adverse effects on the feet of the animal. And there is always the danger of an accident by being hit by a vehicle.

If you would like to help and support the Thai elephant, then visit the Elephant Village of Khun Phairat Chaiyakaham, which is located just a little outside of Pattaya. Your visit contri-butes to a meaningful occupation of Thai elephants and their mahouts in the field of tourism.