Footage shows elephants that had worked in the tourism industry being walked back into the jungle in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.<br /><br />The jumbos have been left without work after holidaymakers were banned and elephant centres forced to close amid the Covid-19 restrictions.<br /><br />Kind locals raised money to support mahouts making the long journey along mountain roads with their animals.<br /><br />The fund-raising money was given to the needy mahouts who have struggled to feed their elephants during the coronavirus chaos.<br /><br />Footage shows the final leg of the five-day journey before the elephants were released into their natural habitat to forage for food.<br /><br />District sheriff Boonlue Thamtharanurak said kind locals had raised money to help the elephants live naturally again.<br /><br />He said: "The elephants have been living with their mahouts for so long that they could have a hard time adapting to the wild, so the donations will be used to help with that.<br /><br />"We raised the money to support the mahouts in their long trip taking the jumbos back to the jungle and for the foods that they would feed them along the way."
