For 25 years an elephant named Pai Lin was forced to carry tourists up to 6 individuals at a time. Working up to 71 years of her life, she passes the usual age limit they grow up in. But that may not be for long due to the conditions of her body “She was used for elephant trekking, as a street begging prop, and in the logging industry for many years. She was forced to carry a heavy howdah—[a type of] seat—with up to six tourists. Because of this, her spine is visibly deformed, and she has many scars caused by pressure sores.” (Paragraph 2, Line four) Causing her to look like this.
This includes scars from pressure sores, becoming dehydrated, underweight, suffer from eye discharge caused by a respiratory infection. It made her terrified of other animals like elephants, cows, and various other animals. But can elephant riding be stopped? Some of the earliest practices have roughly been 5,500 B.C. in Egypt. Some could argue that some animals can be used for riding such as horses, donkeys, and camels. But shouldn’t include elephants as they aren’t meant for transportation.
Animals like horses are made for riding, elephants are not. Horses were not meant to be evolved to be ridden, but are now commonly used for transportation. Their bodies have evolved to be easier to move and carry humans. There are multiple other ways of transportation like for humans or motorized vehicles. But both could take long periods. Airplanes or cargoships are reliable, with one being faster than the other. But something could happen where the vehicles are lost or destroyed, even stolen, which makes important items harder to obtain.
Another example of this would be one Los Angeles elephant, named Shaunzi. Where where the 53-year old mammal was unable to stand up. “Animal care staff and Zoo veterinarians responded quickly and worked through the night to help Shaunzi up. Despite the use of all resources and personnel available, the extraordinary efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.” (Paragraph 2, Line 1&2) Although she spent most of her life “born in Thailand and spent much of her youth in a circus environment.” (Paragraph 5, line 1) She spend her later years as an ambassadors. “She helped Angelenos learn about her wild counterparts and their challenges in their native range.” (Paragraph 5, line 2)
In conclusion, both elephants in the article had started with a hard life. But soon with the help of organizations and the Los Angeles Zoo, they are/were given a better life. With people willing to help and care for their every need.
