Lesson 41 Training elephants

 
Two main techniques have been used for training elephants, which we may call respectively the tough and the
gentle. The former method simply consists of setting an elephant to work and beating him until he does what is
expected of him. Apart from any moral considerations this is a stupid method of training, for it produces a
resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man-killer. The gentle method requires more patience in the
early stages, but produces a cheerful, good-tempered elephant who will give many years of loyal service.
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely
responsible for the job. Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable
degree of personal affection. There are even stories of half-trained elephant calves who have refused to feed
and pined to death when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer. Such
extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that the
relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between fifteen and twenty years, for it is
then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away. But animals of this
age do not easily become subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages. The
captive elephant, still roped to a tree,plunges and screams every time a man approaches, and for several days
will probably refuse all food through anger and fear. Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the
wild one confidence, and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food. The
next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment, a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid
of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side.
When several elephants are being trained at one time it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between
the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced. It is then left completely undisturbed with
plenty of food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly
alarming is happening to its companions. When it is eating normally its own training begins. The trainer stands
in front of the elephant holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. Two assistants, mounted or tame
elephants, control the captive from either side, while others rub their hands over his skin to the accompaniment
of a monotonous and soothing chant. This if supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, and its
effects are reinforced by the use of endearing epithets, such as 'ho ! my son', or 'ho ! my father', or 'my mother',
according to the age and sex of the captive. The elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments,
however, and usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. These movements are controlled by the
trainer with the metal-pointed stick, and the trunk eventually becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and
seldom afterwards uses it for offensive purposes.