BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s millions of unemployed due to the coronavirus include elephants which depend on the tourist industry to feed their voracious appetites.
With scant numbers of foreign visitors, commercial elephant camps and sanctuaries lack funds for their upkeep and have sent more than 100 of the animals trudging as far as 150 kilometers (95 miles) back to their homes. A foundation in northern Thailand raises funds to feed animals still at tourist parks, but also promotes returning them to their homes in natural habitats so they can be more self-sufficient.
As many as 2,000 tame elephants risk starvation because their owners cannot afford to feed them.