Elephant
In 2008, the IUCN listed the Asian elephant as endangered due to a 50% population decline over the past 60–75 years while CITES lists the species under Appendix I. Asian elephants once ranged from Syria and Iraq (the subspecies "Elephas maximus asurus"), to China (up to the Yellow River) and Java. It is now extinct in these areas, and the current range of Asian elephants is highly fragmented. The total population of Asian elephants is estimated to be around 40,000–50,000, although this may be a loose estimate. It is likely that around half of the population is in India. Although Asian elephants are declining in numbers overall, particularly in Southeast Asia, the population in the Western Ghats appears to be increasing.
Patara Elephant Farm
Patara Elephant Farm is a health-recovery and reproduction-management farm for elephants. Its focus is on educating the public on elephants and the threats they face. To do this, the farm pairs visitors up with an elephant for a day and assigns them the task of caring for that elephant. As of December 2014, the farm is home to 55 elephants. It is located in the mountains near Hang Dong Valley, 45 minutes south of Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was founded in 2001 by a man named Theerapat "Pat" Trungprakan's and his wife Anocha "Dao" with the goal of preserving the elephant population in Thailand. Theerapat says there is much sacrifice involved, and says he and the other caretakers spend more time with the elephants than with their wives The elephants' caretakers, known as mahouts, are from a nearby Karen village and are paired-up with their own elephant to take care of.