Elephant racing enough to accommodate nine participating elephants. Elephants are entered into the races from many villages. Two mahuts or jockeys ride on each elephant - one to steer it and another to goad it to race fast. A musical instrument made of horns of the elephants is blown first to assemble the elephants at the starting gate, then another sound is blown to signal the elephants to take the starting line and be set for the race, and with the third blow of the horn, the race is signaled. The elephants generally race at a speed of 25 mph with the
Patara Elephant Farm are therefore malnourished. Furthermore, since they are exposed to gas from traffic for around 12 hours a day, they develop damage to their respiratory systems. The noise from this traffic can also damage their hearing. Much of the elephant trade is the result of tourism, and many other elephant farms get their elephants illegally by buying them from people who poach them from the wild. Many of these elephants are captured in Myanmar, and are easily sold in Thailand on the Thai-Burma border. To capture them, they are herded into pit traps, where older elephant are often shot and younger