Elephant Valley
Menu- WELCOME TO THE ELEPHANT VALLEY!
- FROM ASIA OR AFRICA?
- FROM THE LIFE OF ELEPHANTS
- WATER OVER GOLD
- BIG EATERS
- ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED
- HARD LIFE WITH ELEPHANTS
- HARD LIFE WITH PEOPLE
- PARTNERSHIP OF PEOPLE AND ELEPHANTS
- ELEPHANTS IN CEREMONIES
- ELEPHANTS AT WORK
- ELEPHANTS FROM PINNAWALA
- GANESHA
- ELEPHANTS IN HINDUISM
- THE SOVEREIGN WHITE ELEPHANT
- THE DREAM OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND ELEPHANTS
In Asia, elephants have been helping people for over 4 000 years. Despite this, humans have never domesticated them. Instead, they have developed traditional methods of catching wild elephants, and the profession of elephant tender, the “mahout”, was developed - a family business down from father to son for centuries.
LIFELONG RELATIONSHIP
When working with an elephant, it’s important to know him or her intimately and to create a relationship imbued with love and respect. That’s why each mahout cared for one animal, which he usually lived with from a young age. Their bond used to be reinforced during the daily baths.
COMMANDS FOR AN ELEPHANT
A fully trained elephant is able to respond to around 30 commands. The mahout issues them not only verbally, but also with the aid of hand signals, with pressure from an ankus (a metal hook with a handle) or by tapping with a stick, and by squeezing with his legs while riding the animal.
A THORNY PATH TO WORK
The method of capture and taming of working elephants differed according to the area, but animals on the verge of adulthood were selected nearly everywhere – old enough to be able to work, but not too stubborn yet. Only when searching for a war elephant, adult males around the age of 20 were chosen.
Elephants used to be captured either by lasso or by being herded into a pit or an enclosure. People were generally helped by tame elephants during this process.
After capture, people either left the animal to go hungry, or took it away from other elephants and bound it.
After a period of discomfort and loneliness, the future mahout came to the elephant for the first time, offered it some food and started to make friends with it.
Experienced elephants used to help with the novice in the first month. It was fettered between them when walking to water and learned from them to respond to humans in a calm way. If it obeyed, it got a reward.
An elephant learned some basic instructions during its taming. Real training, however, started a little later and took three to twelve years.