Being trampled on by a three-tonne 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 to 5.5 tonnes – administer the massage using their trunks and feet.
Trunk therapy: Tourists are flocking to a jungle camp in Thailand to be massaged by elephants
But the unusual massage certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted – with a wrong move having potentially deadly results.
Ian Maclean, from Hawaii, USA, captured two foreign tourists – one male and another female – lying on the ground with a towel over their midriff.
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.
That hits the spot: A tourists giggles as she is stepped on by one of the jumbos which weigh between 2.25 to 5.5 tonnes
Just relax: The elephants administer the massages using both their trunks and feet
That might hurt: A tourists grins despite having a elephant’s foot pressing down on his groin
Ian Maclean, from Hawaii, USA, captured two foreign tourists – one male and another female – lying on the ground receiving the unusual therapy
Ian said: ‘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.
‘But this elephant one is a little more challenging purely thanks to the animals sheer size and power.
The spa treatment, which is being offered in Chang Mai, Thailand, is certainly not for the feint hearted
Perks of the job: One of the elephant handlers, known a mahouts, gets a back rub from a jumbo
Firm pressure please:The Asian elephant have been trained to replicate the techniques used by masseurs
‘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.
‘But if you are brave enough, it is one for the bucket list.’
By: dailymail.co.uk
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