“Ole, a two-year-old Thai elephant, stands side-on to traffic in the middle of a four-lane street in central Bangkok, trunk swinging erratically as buses, taxis and motorbikes whiz past on either flank. For eight hours each night he walks through choking fumes, stopping only when a customer, Thai or tourist, buys a 20 baht (60 cent) bag of sugarcane to feed him and snap a photo. For the next few months, this will be his life.” - smh.com.au

“As cars whizz past Victory Monument, five-year-old Lum Yai performs tricks under a grimy flyover. She spins a multicolored hula-hoop on her front leg, then squirts water at sopping Songkran revellers with her trunk. For this she will get plenty of laughs and 40 baht. Streetside diners normally only pay 20 baht for the privilege of feeding her a small bag of sugarcane.” - IHT ThaiDay

“The owner of the Ayutthaya elephant farm, 45 miles north of Bangkok, is selling about 20 of his 140 pachyderms. Prices start at 2m baht (?27,000) and the animals come with a verbal guarantee of being well bred, well behaved and a source of good luck.” - The Guardian