an elephant with paint on its forehead and trunk

In this Thai village, life revolves around 300 captive elephants

In Ban Ta Klang, people live alongside the elephants they raise and train for tourism.

Thong Bai, who has appeared in Chang Beer commercials, is one of a few hundred captive elephants that live in the village of Ban Ta Klang. When he isn’t working in the entertainment industry, he’s chained in this enclosure.

 

Photograph by Kirsten Luce, National Geographic

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