The national animal of Thailand is the Thai elephant. The animal has been a hugely important symbol of Thai culture for many centuries, and the elephants found in Thailand are Indian elephants. Thai elephants, though, are a subspecies of Indian elephants and do have some small differences, such as being shorter with thicker bodies.
Elephants, then, are and have been a very important Thai symbol.
They are very important culturally and historically to the country, having played a role in labor, war, royal iconography, and tourism.
Though standards are changing in the modern world about how elephants ought to be treated, they remain a very important part of Thai culture.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Thailand?
The national animal of Thailand is the elephant.
This is an iconic Thai animal that has played a huge role in the country’s past and present.
Importantly, there are multiple species of elephant, and the one found in Thailand is called the Thai elephant.
This is a subspecies of the Indian elephant, which is itself a subspecies of Asian elephant.
There are only small differences between Thai elephants and Indian elephants, but certainly enough to classify them as distinct subspecies.
They are generally smaller, having shorter front legs though a thicker body than most Indian elephants.
Elephants in Thailand inhabit tropical forests because of their diet.
These are mostly found in the north and west of Thailand, in regions such as Mae Hong Son and Chumphon.
Eating occupies around 18 hours of their day, and they mostly eat fruit like ripe bananas, as well as leaves and tree bark.
They will continuously move around as they eat well over a hundred kilos of food per day and this results in a lot of dung.
They naturally will not eat in soiled areas.
Elephants have played a huge role practically speaking in Thai history and culture.
They have been used in manual labor for a long time.
They are used to pull logs and perform other kinds of heavy lifting duties.
In the past, they were also used as war animals, with Alexander the Great famously encountering them.
Thai royals used elephants as animals of prestige and eventually adopted them as their insignia.
Elephants, then, have been a constant part of Thai culture for a very long time.
Even had they not been, their imposing size has given them an important place in the human imagination in recent years as well as in history, so they still may have been adopted as Thailand’s national animal in any case.
What does the Thai elephant symbolize?
The Thai elephant symbolizes many different things.
On the one hand, the most obvious symbol of the elephant is strength.
They are the largest animals that walk the Earth today, and with their powerful tusks and ability to run at considerable speed for their size, they have always inspired awe in the human imagination.
Again, as historical weapons of war in Thailand, they also represent specifically martial strength, even though war elephants were not used much outside of the classical world.
Elephants also symbolize loyalty in Thailand.
One inscription notes that the elephant of King Ramkhamhaeng, named Bekhpon, advanced an attack to protect his father while the rest of his actual soldiers fled in fear.
Elephant duels were also an important part of Thai history.
Your elephant could be very loyal to you and even risk its own safety for you.
Given their long lives, elephants also are symbols of longevity.
They are seen as good luck charms on the one hand which will help you live a longer life.
In a more literal sense, it is Thai tradition that walking under an elephant will bring you good luck.
Are elephants endangered in Thailand?
The short answer is yes, Thai elephants are endangered.
Their numbers have plummeted in recent decades for a variety of reasons.
One of the most significant contributors to their decline is logging. Logging was banned in Thailand in 1989, but unfortunately still goes on illicitly.
On the one hand, this logging destroyed its natural habitat, and also the ban meant that elephants were no longer needed on such a large scale for moving the logs.
Of course, hunting has also played a role.
The ivory trade was naturally very important and still is today, though most ivory did come from Africa.
Thai elephants have been threatened from all sides, then, and there are a number of ongoing conservation efforts today to ensure their continued survival.
Their role in the tourist industry has been controversial but practices are now changing for the better.
How many different species of elephant are there?
There are essentially three main distinct species of elephant.
You have two kinds of African elephant, the bush or savannah elephant and the forest elephant.
You then have Asian elephants.
All of these categories are then further subdivided into other divisions like Indian elephant and then finally Thai elephant.
In terms of actual, distinct species, though, there are three different kinds of elephants.
Elephants, being the largest land mammals on Earth, are an animal that understandably impress themselves on our imaginations.
The presence of elephants in Thailand has shaped the country’s history in countless ways and still continues to do so today.
They are under threat now more than ever, and not just in Thailand. Things certainly need to change in order to protect these majestic creatures.