BEING trampled on by a 3-ton elephant is not usually the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about ways to relieve stress.
But tourists are flocking to a jungle camp in Thailand for just that. The spa treatment is being offered in Chang Mai province, where a number of Asian elephants – that weigh anywhere from 2.25 tons to 5.5 tons – administer the massage using their trunks and feet.
Ian Maclean, from the US, showed two foreign tourists – one male and another female – lying on the ground with towels over their midriffs.
The giant Asian elephant is then led up to the tourists by a mahout, before “gently” patting them to replicate the techniques used by masseurs.
“During my travels around Asia I have seen many unusual animal massages including one with four Burmese pythons. In places like Thailand entrepreneurial safari park owners see it as a way of making some extra money,” said Maclean.
“But this elephant one is a little more challenging purely thanks to the animals sheer size and power.
“It looked quite dangerous and I saw many years ago the perils when an elephant stepped on a tourist’s leg. You can imagine what happened and the pain that person was in.”
– Daily Mail