It's really sad to see majestic elephants chained like this. Other than this unfortunate scene, however, the pictures you've posted from this particular zoo look fantastic! The exhibits and landscaping are beautiful -- almost like paradise even. Now if only something could be done to help those poor elephants....
KK Zoo is the best zoo in Thailand and its jungle setting is magnificent. Almost every exhibit is of a very high quality, thus the sight of two big bull Asian Elephants chained for hours was disheartening. Later on, during his second visit, @twilighter had a behind-the-scenes tour and found out that it is WAZA that is okay with the chains due to bull aggression. WAZA does not recommend the chains, but allows the zoo to use them as long as the situation is regulated.
But, overall, the level of quality at KK Zoo is exceptional and it's jungle setting helps place it above most North American zoos in my opinion. Zoos in the USA have horticulturalists who spend all year planting seeds, while at the jungle zoos in Southeast Asia there are rows of workers actively cutting back the vegetation. It's a constant battle to control the growth of the tropical area all around the zoos. We saw one abandoned area here that looked like it had been dormant for 15 years, when in fact it had only been ONE year.
