揭秘泰国大象旅游业背后的黑暗真相，看完再也不想骑大象
你骑过大象么？ 你想骑大象吗？驮着人类的大象，真的像看起来那么乖顺吗？在大象对你俯首帖耳、乖巧卖萌时，你有没有想过它们被驯化时受过的折磨。下面这段视频将告诉你，一头大象从野生到驯服需要经历些什么……
对于许多旅行者来说，去东南亚旅行，骑大象已经成了一个必须体验的项目。或许有人会问，我们能骑马、骑牛，骑大象有何不妥？
那是因为马、牛等都是被人类驯化过的家畜，而大象是未经驯化的野生动物。从一个自由的生灵，到任人奴役的摇钱树，基因决定了它们将忍受炼狱般的痛苦。
下面小编给你5个不骑大象的理由：
1. ELEPHANTS IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY ARE ABUSED.
旅游业中的大象正在遭受虐待
A wild elephant doesn't naturally allow a human to climb atop its back and trek through the jungle, for hours, every day of the week. It has to be tamed into submission. In Southeast Asia, the process of taming an elephant includes torture and breaking its spirit.
野生大象并不是生来就允许人们爬上他的背每天在丛林中跋涉数小时的。大象经过驯化后才会服从。在东南亚，驯化大象的过程包括身体折磨和精神摧残。
The ancient tradition is called Phajaan, meaning "the crush." Poachers take the wild baby elephant away from its mother, sometimes killing the protective elephants around the calf.
这种古老的驯象传统被称为Phajaan，意思是“彻底粉碎”。偷猎者将野生大象宝宝从妈妈身边带走，有时还会杀死保护在小象身边的大象。
The handlers tie, cage, starve and beat the animal with tools like a metal bull hook until it learns to fear and obey humans.
驯化者们将大象拴起来、关在笼子里、不给他们食物，还用金属牛角钩等工具打他们，直到大象学会害怕和服从人类。
2. GIVING RIDES CAN DAMAGE ELEPHANTS' SPINES.
骑大象会损害大象的脊椎
An elephant's spine is not built to support the weight of a human being. Elephants that carry tourists on their backs for hours every day experience discomfort and can suffer from permanent spinal damage. There is also the added element of the Howdah: the seat that the human sits in atop the elephant. The seat causes irritation against the elephant's skin and can lead to infection.
大象的脊椎并非天生用来承载人类的重量。大象每天将游客背在背上数小时，会感到不适，且脊椎会受到永久性损伤。另一种伤害来自Howdah：人们坐在大象背上的座椅。这种座椅会刺痛大象皮肤，还会导致皮肤感染。
大象虽然身形高大，但一头成年象背上最多可以承担150公斤的重量4个小时。
而事实上，许多大象营会在大象背上绑上金属座椅，通常一次会有至少两名游客坐在大象背上，而大象一天的工作时间远不止4个小时。
3. ELEPHANTS ARE SOCIAL, INTELLIGENT CREATURES.
大象是聪明的群居动物
Elephants are very similar to humans. They have family and friends and feel deep emotion. According to Elephant Voices, "elephants are well-known for their intelligence, close family ties and social complexity, and they remember for years other individuals and places."
大象和人类非常相似。他们有家人和朋友，非常有感情。据《大象的声音》称，“大象以聪明、家庭关系亲密以及社会复杂性而著称，他们对其他个体和地点的记忆可以储存多年。”
Not only do elephants remember and feel the pain of torture deeply enough to suffer from post-traumatic stress, but when elephants are brought on trekking camps, they are often ripped away from their herd and forced to live in loneliness.
大象对折磨的痛苦有着深刻的感受和记忆，因而饱受创伤后压力的折磨，不仅如此，当大象被带到大象营时，人们通常将他们和象群分离，强迫他们独自生活。
"Just as we consider solitary confinement as punishment for humans, we should also be thinking that way about elephants," said Stanford professor Caitlin O'Connell in an interview with National Geographic in 2016. "It is not healthy to house elephants by themselves."
2016年，斯坦福大学教授凯特琳•奥康奈尔接受《国家地理》采访时表示：“正如我们认为单独禁闭是对人类的惩罚一样，我们应该想到对于大象也是这样。让大象独居对他们来说是不健康的。”
4. ASIAN ELEPHANTS ARE ENDANGERED.
亚洲大象濒临灭绝
The Asian elephant is on the Red List of Threatened Species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the population declined more than 50 percent over the last 60 to 75 years. Asian elephants that work in the tourism industry sometimes die from hunger, dehydration and exhaustion. Like captive elephant Sambo, who died in Cambodia earlier this year from a heart attack while giving tourists a ride in 104 degree Fahrenheit heat.
亚洲象被列入《濒危物种红色名单》。据国际自然保护联盟称，在过去60-75年里，大象的数量减少了50%以上。在旅游行业工作的亚洲象有时会死于饥饿、脱水和疲劳。例如，今年早些时候在柬埔寨，圈养大象桑博在华氏104度（40摄氏度）的高温下背驮游客时心脏病发作而亡。
5. THERE ARE BETTER, SAFER WAYS TO INTERACT WITH ELEPHANTS.
与大象互动的方式可以更好、更安全
You don't have to visit a camp that promotes elephant rides to interact with these beautiful creatures. There are conservations in Southeast Asia like Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary, Elephant Nature Park and Elephant Jungle Sanctuary that save elephants from captivity and allow humans to visit. You can hang out with elephants, and help bathe, feed and observe them. ENP even offers a range of volunteer opportunities for tourists.
你不需要到一个提倡骑大象的营地和这个美丽的生物互动。东南亚有大象保护区，比如，本露特大象庇护所、大象自然公园和大象丛林庇护所，这些地方可以保护大象不被圈养，而且允许人们前来参观。你可以和大象一起闲逛，帮他们洗澡、喂食，观察他们。大象自然公园甚至为游客提供一系列志愿服务机会。
Dustin Levick, a tourist from Texas, visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last month. While there he was able to appreciate the elephants in an ethical way.
上个月，来自德克萨斯州的游客达斯汀•李维科参观了泰国清迈的大象丛林庇护所。在那里，他能够以一种不违背道德的方式观赏大象。
"They are so happy when they go swimming. They just roll around in the water and it's amazing to watch how happy they are," said Levick. "Standing in front of a 55-year-old elephant who weights 2 tons, massaging her trunk with mud as she stands perfectly still, you can't help but feel a connection to such an amazing animal."
李维科说：“大象在游泳的时候真的很开心。他们就在水中打滚，看到他们这么高兴真的很棒。站在一头55岁、2吨重的大象面前，给一动不动的她抹泥巴，你会不由自主地感觉到与这个神奇的动物之间的联系。”
