Amid Pandemic, Thailand's Elephants Face Starvation

In Thailand, elephants are at risk of becoming indirect victims of the coronavirus pandemic. With tourism at a standstill, the country's estimated 2,000 captive elephants are at risk of starvation, the AFP reports. Owners say they can't afford the hundreds of pounds of food an elephant needs each day. "If there is no support forthcoming to keep them safe, these elephants, some of whom are pregnant, will either starve to death or may be put on to the streets to beg," Lek Chailert, founder of the Save Elephant Foundation, tells the BBC. Elephants may also end up being sold to zoos or put to work in the illegal logging industry. Campaigners, who say it costs at least $30 a day to feed an elephant, have urged the Thai government to fund camps to ensure the animals survive the crisis. (More Thailand stories.)