Elephant rides for tourists at Cambodia’s Angkor temple to end, with animals moved to new jungle home
- Fourteen elephants officially at the Angkor temple complex have been providing rides for tourists since 2001
- But the elephants will still have to put on performances for visitors at their new location about 40km away
Elephants that serve as a tourist attraction and give rides at Cambodia’s famed Angkor temple complex will be moved to a new home in a suitable jungle area, an official said yesterday.
Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the Angkor archaeological site, said it is important for the animals to be able to live in their natural habitat, and there are other ways to provide attractions and rides for tourists.
Some of the 14 elephants officially at the site under the management of a private company are old and in ill health. They have been providing rides for tourists since 2001.
The death of a female elephant in 2016 of heart failure after giving a tourist a ride triggered an outpouring of grief and criticism on social media. A petition was posted on the website change.org addressed to the Apsara Authority calling for the end of elephant riding there.
The agency said tourists will be allowed to see, but not ride, the elephants at their new location about 40km (25 miles) from Angkor Wat.