These two children pack their trunks before heading off to school – with their two pet ELEPHANTS.
Siblings Nong, seven, and Ong, five, trudge almost a mile holding the young elephant by his ear with the older one in tow.
The pair are so close to their enormous pets they can lie down together in the grass to take a break and do their homework.
Photographer Arunan Sathiyanathan, 36, captured the stunning images of the children in their remote village in Surin province, eastern Thailand.
Arunan from Chennai, India, said: ”I travelled through Thailand and heard about this small village where the people are very close to elephants.
”They have a lot of the creatures there. Every house has one or two elephants that they keep as pets. Even the hotels have a resident elephant.
”I noticed the two children with their pet elephants and arranged to take pictures of them walking the creatures to school.
”It was amazing how close they are. They can even lie down together with the young elephant and feel totally safe.
”The people of the village have a unique bond with the elephants that I don’t think is found anywhere else in the world.”
The small village is home to hundreds of elephants. Many are kept as a pet and are believed to bring good luck to the home.
Others are kept in wildlife sanctuaries or trained to be used in local shows and religious ceremonies.
