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Introduction

The purpose of this activity is to research the status of elephants in Thailand today, compare different points of view and discuss reasons for differing opinions.

Tasks

1. Choose one of the websites listed below and use the following questions as a guide for your research.

   

   • What are elephants like? Describe their nature, physical size, temperament and so on.
   • How long have they been in Thailand?
   • What conditions or habitat do they need to live in?
   • What was the role of elephants in Thailand in the past? How are they used at present?
   • What is the present situation of elephants in Thailand? Are they protected and looked after, or are they at risk?
   • What is being done to help elephants in Thailand?
   • What is their likely future?

2. Should people in Australia care about the future of the elephants? Explain your reasons.

3. Imagine that you decide to do something about the plight of the elephants in Thailand.

   • List as many different actions you could take as possible (such as raise money, circulate petitions, write letters to newspapers, contact an animal protection society).
   • Discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of each possible course of action.
   • Decide what the best course of action would be. Explain why you chose it.

4. Write a report about the status of elephants in Thailand today, using the website you visited as your only resource.

5. Compare and discuss differences in information and opinions with groups who visited another website. Discuss why there are different opinions offered at each website. Determine the best way to answer the question: 'What is the status of elephants in Thailand today?'

6. Use Internet search engines to see if you can find out about the status of elephants throughout Thailand's history. Develop a timeline to illustrate the change in the status of elephants through history. Focus on the following:

   • population numbers
   • the work performed by elephants
   • the religious significance of elephants.

Websites

Reports are accessible at the following websites:

http://www.thaifocus.com/elephant/ (see the articles listed under 'Elephant details' in the menu on the left)

http://www.panda.org/downloads/species/Asian_elephant_factsheet.pdf is a factsheet on Asian elephants (requires Acrobat® Reader®)

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/species/our_solutions/endangered_species/elephants/asian_elephants/index.cfm
has a special report on Asian elephants

Access Asia | Thailand | A Thai Journey | Student Activities | WWW Links

 Curriculum Corporation and the University of Melbourne

The URL for this page is: http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/thailand/sukho2.htm