Elephants are intelligent and emotional creatures and it seems that they don’t just love listening to music but playing it as well.

You might have seen the incredible response that elephants can have to music. It’s clear that these beautiful creatures are capable of eliciting emotional responses to art, some elephants even paint.

The latest in ‘wow elephants are complex creatures just like us!’ comes from northern Thailand. The ‘Thai Elephant Orchestra’ is a project at a conservation centre in Lampang, North Thailand that got it’s inhabitants playing music.

Started by accomplished musician and composer Dave Soldier and “Professor Elephant” Richard Lair. They created instruments far bigger and heavier than any traditional counterparts so it could withstand the strength of an elephant trunk hitting against it.

The results are incredible and show the elephants playing in unison and seeming to genuinely enjoy a cathartic release. Research has shown that elephants are able to distinguish basic melodies, giving them a unique insight into the world of music for a wild animal.

Soldier said of training the animals, which he expected to be difficult: “I thought that we’d have to give them a banana every time they hit it and an apple every time they made a note. but it was nothing like that – I would play it, hand them the stick and that was it. They were playing in a few minutes.”

According to locals it sounds like the music played in the Buddhist temples. Hear it for yourself and prepare to be amazed.