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