Mahoot and boys on decorated elephants at a roadside festival, Kerala State, India, Asia

Tourists on elephant back sighting rhino, Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Elephant at the Amber Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan State, India, Asia

Guests at the Island Jungle Resort hotel take an elephant safari across a river, Royal Chitwan National Park, the Terai, Nepal, Asia

Elephant ride and Indian tiger, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh state, India, Asia

Elephant tusk arches, Mombasa, Kenya, East Africa, Africa

Tourists and elephants at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort, Sop Ruak, Golden Triangle, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Tourists and elephants at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort, Sop Ruak, Golden Triangle, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Mahout and elephant, Amber Fort Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Mahouts and elephants, Amber Fort Palace, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Safari on elephant back, tourists in Kaziranga National Park, Assam state, India, Asia

Riding Asian elephants near Luang Prabang, Laos, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Japanese tourists board the elephant that will take them on safari, at the Island Jungle Resort hotel, Royal Chitwan National Park, Terai, Nepal, Asia

Japanese tourists on dawn elephant safari, at the Island Jungle Resort hotel, Royal Chitwan National Park, Terai, Nepal, Asia

An elephant and its rider walk the walls of the Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Painted elephants and mahouts, Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Decorated statue of elephant and rider guards the entrance to Bodnath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

Mural, decorated elephant with rider and litter, Udaipur, Rajasthan, North India, India, South Asia, Asia

Elephant back safari, Abu Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa

Sculpture of an elephant with rider, Junagarh Fort, city palace, Bikaner, Rajasthan, North India, South Asia

Elephant and rider in the mist under the rising sun, UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site of Kaziranga National Park, Assam, North East India, India, Asia

Elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) with rider, drinking, in water at sunset, silhouette, Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Asia

Tourists riding elephants, Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Elephant spraying two tourists, Kanchanaburi Province, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia

Elephant spraying tourists, Kanchanaburi Province, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia

Elephant for carrying tourists up to Amber Fort, near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Street scene with elephant, two riding boys on an elephant, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Tourists riding elephants to Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Indian in front of the mural of an elephant with a rider in the city palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan, North India, India, South Asia, Asia

An elephant carries felled teak logs to stacking piles for pickup. Near the village of Cochin in Kerala, India, Asian elephants are used to log teak from a commercial plantation. The domestication and use of elephants in India is a tradition over 4,000 years old.