Thailand Travel Guide

Thai elephants are actually Indian Elephants, though a slightly smaller breed than the ones in India proper. No longer common in the wild, numerous elephant farms exist and recently the Thai government has cut down drasticly on private ownership of elephants to the point where they are now a rarity on the city streets. Many have been relocated to elephant farms for rehabilitation or sent to roam free on reserves in the north of the country. There are still many working elephants in forestry, and the tourism sectors.
 

Soi Dog is the common English term for the stray dogs that are ubiquitous in Thailand. Not wild dogs in the sense of being wolf-like pack hunters, though they often wander in packs, but more like domesticated dogs without a home. Though they can be a nuisance, they are rarely a danger, and most are quite good natured due to the fact they are used to people and urban environments.

Thais rarely harm the soi dogs and in fact it’s not uncommon to see locals feeding the dogs in their areas. You can see in the above picture a soi dog sleeping in the middle of the road at Doi Suthep. He remained there for about an hour while countless people drove around him, after which he awoke and went on about his business.

Soi Dog Information

Hua Hin Dog Rescue Centre
 

Thailand has several varieties of cobra, including the Spitting Cobra (pictured below), and the larger King Cobra (pictured above).

Spitting Cobra refers to any one of several species of cobras that have the ability to spray the venom, using muscular contractions upon the venom glands. When cornered, they can “spit” their venom up to two meters. While spitting is their primary form of defence, all spitting cobras are capable of delivering venom by a biting as well. Most species’ venom exhibit both hemotoxic and neurotoxic effects.

When spit, the venom is harmless to skin, but can cause blindness if left untreated after coming into contact with eyes.
 

King Cobras are the largest venomous land snakes, with some growing in excess of 5m in length. Its venom is a neurotoxin, with a mortality rate as high as 75% in humans, but most bites involve nonfatal amounts. The King Cobra feeds almost exclusively on other snakes, including other cobras (but rarely it’s own species). Fortunately it is generally a shy and reclusive animal, avoiding confrontation with people as much as it can.

When it feels threatened the King Cobra lifts approximately a third of its body off the ground, makes a hood, and hisses loudly. A full-grown King Cobra is actually able to look a standing human directly in the eye. This is time to take the snake’s advice and back off.

Cobra Information

Cobras.org - Excellent resource, very informative.
Spiders, Snakes & Centipedes