I always used to love going to the circus as a kid, but recently I saw some footage (link) that reveals how the elephants are actually trained. Although I’m sure there are a wide variety of different techniques that elephant handlers use to train the elephants to do tricks, this video, at least, shows negative reinforcement as the primary method - the elephants are, basically, struck with hooks whenever they screw up, seemingly conditioning them by fear to perform the tricks.
From the brief research I’ve done, the main argument from the circus proponents is that the elephants’ skin is so thick that the beatings don’t actually hurt very much. But if it didn’t hurt, then it wouldn’t work as a training method, right?
On the other hand, I imagine that if the elephants were really under significant stress, they would just kill the trainers - something they could very easily do. I mean, really - these humans are like bugs compared to the elephants. So maybe it’s not as bad as the pro-animal people make it out to be.
I recently spent a little time working with elephants on a nature preserve in Thailand, and I know they stressed that elephants’ skin is not very thick at all (although it’s certainly tough) and that it’s very sensitive. Obviously we weren’t doing scientific studies to test that, but I found it believable. A quick look at cites on the internet confirms that conclusion. The skin is sensitive, and it’s thick in some places but not others..
No, it wouldn’t.
Unless they believe the punishment will get even worse if they do that, which is pretty logical. I don’t know how elephants are trained at circuses in the U.S. and I assume that it’s better than what I learned about in Thailand because animal rights are taken more seriously here, and because circuses are legal while a lot of elephants there are used in illegal businesses like logging. But even the elephants that are treated poorly don’t attack their handlers very often because they’re sufficiently brutalized by the training.
Nitpick: “negative reinforcement” is the taking away of an aversive stimulus to increase certain behavior or response. Example: taking aspirin to make a headache go away. You’re more likely to take aspirin again the next time you get a headache.
It certainly can, with an intelligent animal (which elephants are). Squirting a dog or a cat with a squirt gun doesn’t hurt, but it’s still plenty to train them. Heck, just saying “no” in a strong voice can work, too, and that doesn’t have any discomfort at all associated with it.
That’s true, but I think he’s asking specifically about hitting them. You can train an animal without beating them, but it stands to reason that you’re not going to beat them if the beatings don’t hurt. I don’t know if this is done in circuses, but I know that in Thailand people will sometimes control their elephants by tugging on the elephant’s ears using a sharp hook. There’s no way that doesn’t hurt.
Here is a recent article in Mother Jones about circus elephants called
“The Cruelest Show on Earth-
Bullhooks. Whippings. Electric shocks. Three-day train rides without breaks. Our yearlong investigation rips the big top off how Ringling Bros. treats its elephants”
There’s an amazing documentary on PBS from some years ago, I think it’s still available in public libraries around the country… I don’t remember the title or anything else, only that they closed by showing a private farm in Tennessee for circus elephants and what happened when two elephants had a reunion in that private farm after being 20 or so years apart.
If you’re serious about your question you have to hunt down that documentary and watch it.
Many are. Possibly, if not probably, most. The goad is actually the least of the elephants’ worries. There are, however, mahouts (elephant handlers) who really do love their charges and treat them decently. In the logging industry, it’s not uncommon for the beasts to be given amphetamines to make them work harder. And ever since Thailand banned logging some 20 years ago, they’re often taken across the borders to work in what is often minefield-laden territory. The elephant hospital in Lampang province has had to treat a few of those as you can see here.
Our very own **Scylla **once wrote a pretty cool article about breaking horses. He says there are two cardinal rules to keep in mind at all times. Rule number one: in any direct contest of strength between the rider and the horse, the horse will win. No exceptions. Rule number two: never let the horse figure out rule number one.
I’d suspect training elephants is no different. As long as you can convince the animal that it has no hope of ever getting rid of you even if it tried, it’s not going to try. And you better hope it doesn’t, because when it does and you get turned into a gibbering mass of pain and broken bones, it’s not going to forget who’s the real boss in a hurry. Especially if the animal is an elephant, they’re known for this
The performing and trekking elephants are not necessarily treated well either, although I assume the fact that the public gets to see them is a little bit of a dettrant , and a lot of them are just not kept in suitable environments - this is also illegal but some people take their elephants into the cities and have the tourists pay to feed them. Regardless of what work the elephants end up doing, the training generally begins at age 5 with a combination of confinement, sleep deprivation, and stabbing with nails. I don’t know how it compares to training methods here but maybe you can see how an elephant subjected to that is not likely to harm its handler even if it’s upset.
Even the meanest elephant figures out that he needs someone to feed him and carry away feces. He or she will accept commands from that person for room and board.
I’m a bit confused. Is this place, like, one of those semi-flightless quailtard preserves Cheney likes? They give me a 50-calibre on a tripod and drive that herd my way? Or is it just an ivory farm?
I’m a bit confused. Is this place, like, one of those semi-flightless quailtard preserves Cheney likes? They give me a 50-calibre on a tripod and drive that herd my way? Or is it just an ivory farm?