| [00:01.49] |
Lesson 41 |
| [00:03.58] |
Training elephants |
| [00:12.00] |
At what point does the training of a captive wild elephant begin? |
| [00:19.28] |
Two main techniques have been used for training elephants, which we may call respectively the tough and the gentle. |
| [00:27.71] |
The former method simply consists of setting an elephant to work and beating him until he does what is expected of him. |
| [00:36.50] |
Apart from any moral considerations this is a stupid method of training, |
| [00:42.02] |
for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man-killer. |
| [00:48.76] |
The gentle method requires more patience in the early stages, |
| [00:53.04] |
but produce a cheerful good-tempered elephant who will give many years of loyal service. |
| [01:00.62] |
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job. |
| [01:11.01] |
Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable degree of personal affection. |
| [01:20.32] |
There are even stories of half-trained elephant calves who have refused to feed and pined to death |
| [01:27.05] |
when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer. |
| [01:33.30] |
Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, |
| [01:38.17] |
but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training. |
| [01:48.26] |
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between 15 and 20 years, |
| [01:54.97] |
for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away. |
| [02:02.26] |
But animals of this age do not easily become subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages. |
| [02:12.14] |
The captive elephant, still roped to a tree, |
| [02:15.57] |
plunges and screams every time a man approaches, and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger and fear. |
| [02:26.03] |
Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one confidence, |
| [02:32.06] |
and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food. |
| [02:39.34] |
The next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment, |
| [02:44.06] |
a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side. |
| [02:52.18] |
When several elephants are being trained at one time, |
| [02:55.54] |
it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced. |
| [03:04.40] |
It is then left completely undisturbed with plenty of food and water |
| [03:08.66] |
so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly alarming is happening to its companions. |
| [03:17.58] |
When it is eating normally, its own training begins. |
| [03:21.87] |
The trainer stands in front of the elephant holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. |
| [03:27.68] |
Two assistants, mounted on tame elephants, control the captive from either side, |
| [03:33.62] |
while others rub their hands over his skin to the accompaniment of a monotonous and soothing chant. |
| [03:41.04] |
This is supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, |
| [03:45.24] |
and its effects are reinforced by the use of endearing epithets, |
| [03:49.76] |
such as 'ho! my son', or 'ho! my father', or 'my mother', according to the age and sex of the captive. |
| [03:59.73] |
The elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments, however, and usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. |
| [04:09.00] |
These movements are controlled by the trainer with the metal-pointed stick, |
| [04:13.78] |
and the trunk eventually becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and seldom afterwards uses it for offensive purposes. |
