Thailand, Umpang, young elephant dying, close-up

April 2002. A young elephant screams in agony during a three-day 'breaking in' ordeal carried out in the jungles of the Thai-Burma border by ethnic Karen people April 2002 in Umpang, Thailand. There are now less than 50,000 Asian elephants, both living in the wild and in captivity; a tiny number compared to their 600,000-strong African cousins. Some of the region's elephants still labour in jungle logging camps, alongside mahouts whose craft has been handed down through the generations. But with most nations having banned timber-felling, thousands of other beasts and their handlers have had to find another way to earn their living.