# What would happen if I approached a wild elephant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101 "2008-10-15T22:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/21 "2008-10-16T17:03:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > On the other hand, I’d never approach a wild bull elephant. Even the local mahouts won’t do that unless they’re riding a larger one. Speaking of that … my understanding is that elephants are tamed, not domesticated. How is the taming done? Capture of baby elephants? My assumption is that an adult elephant cannot be tamed (or at least it is so difficult and dangerous that it is almost never attempted). ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/22 "2008-10-16T17:11:53Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Speaking of that … my understanding is that elephants are tamed, not domestiated. How is the taming done? Capture of baby elephants? > > My assumption is that an adult elephant cannot be tamed (or at least it is so difficult and dangerous that it is almost never attempted). These cites are far from definitive, but you might find them helpful: > **[Elephant Training and Dressage in the zoo and circus – Upali.ch](http://en.upali.ch/training/)** > **[Clarifying the Complex](https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en)** > > Thomson Reuters empowers professionals with cutting-edge technology solutions informed by industry-leading content and expertise. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/23 "2008-10-16T17:11:59Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Speaking of that … my understanding is that elephants are tamed, not domesticated. How is the taming done? Capture of baby elephants? > > My assumption is that an adult elephant cannot be tamed (or at least it is so difficult and dangerous that it is almost never attempted). Mahouts (riders/keepers) herd cows and calves using other (already tamed) elephants. As far as I know, working elephants have always been obtained this way. I don’t think there are any breeding programs outside of zoos and preserves. ETA: > [@](#): > > **2. Really Not All That Bright: Please avoid this sort of junior-modding comment. If you think a post violates the rules, please report it.** Sorry. I was trying to be funny rather than junior moddish. Fail. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/24 "2008-10-16T17:35:52Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > …1. \*\*Elendil’s Heir \*\*: I’m sure you had the best of intentions, but we’re trying to keep politics out of General Questions… My apologies. A joke that fell as flat as if an elephant stepped on it. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/25 "2008-10-16T19:20:09Z")
Here’s a [news report](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHxYbKImrQg) about the baby elephant born at the Oregon Zoo this past August. The calf was rejected by his own mother, who repeated attacked it. The consensus of the zoo personnel was that she attacked her calf because she didn’t understand what it was and was frightened by it. Here’s [Cecil’s take](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1862/are-hippos-the-most-dangerous-animal) on hippos. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/26 "2008-10-16T19:26:38Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Here’s a [news report](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHxYbKImrQg) about the baby elephant born at the Oregon Zoo this past August. The calf was rejected by his own mother, who repeated attacked it. The consensus of the zoo personnel was that she attacked her calf because she didn’t understand what it was and was frightened by it. Awww, he’s adorable. Poor lil guy. Did the reintroduction between mother and calf ever take? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/27 "2008-10-16T20:34:43Z")
Wow, this thread has totally blown my mind. I thought elephants were kind, gentle creatures. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/28 "2008-10-16T20:45:29Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > …Elephants you can run into almost anywhere. Well, sure. Groucho Marx even found one in his pajamas! ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/29 "2008-10-16T20:53:20Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Awww, he’s adorable. Poor lil guy. Did the reintroduction between mother and calf ever take? Yes, everything is all good now. That’s my video, by the way. Mom accepted her calf a few days later and they bonded normally. > [@Autolycus](#): > > Wow, this thread has totally blown my mind. I thought elephants were kind, gentle creatures. The previews for tonight’s episode of Survivor show the castaways coming face-to-face with a rather upset-looking elephant. Should make for some entertaining TV. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/30 "2008-10-16T20:58:55Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Awww, he’s adorable. Poor lil guy. Did the reintroduction between mother and calf ever take? Yes, they are a happy family, at last report. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/31 "2008-10-16T21:16:05Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Awww, he’s adorable. Poor lil guy. Did the reintroduction between mother and calf ever take? No audio, but apparently, yes. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qCY7Y-AX1s4/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCY7Y-AX1s4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/32 "2008-10-16T21:28:34Z")
Whoohoo! Hurray for happy baby elephants! > [@Autolycus](#): > > Wow, this thread has totally blown my mind. I thought elephants were kind, gentle creatures. I did, too. But then if you think about it, most people are pretty cool, easy-going creatures. Though there’s always the odd serial killer or child abuser or something. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/33 "2008-10-16T22:03:49Z")
I saw with my very own eyes a hippo in his outdoor paddock at the SF Zoo spray a hose of fecal piss about 50 yards onto some poor tourists that were standing at the rail. I was there myself about 30 seconds earlier, but when I saw him look at us, turn around, then look back once more as if taking aim, I did my best Usian Bolt impression. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/34 "2008-10-16T22:27:19Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Here’s [Cecil’s take](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1862/are-hippos-the-most-dangerous-animal) on hippos. Actually, that’s a staff report by Jill. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/35 "2008-10-16T22:54:43Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > :eek: How something that big and heavy can sneak up on you scares me to bits. That’s the thing that really impressed me after spending so much time among forest elephants - how silent they can be. It’s difficult to imagine how an animal the size of a small house can drift through a dense tropical forest while making hardly a sound. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/36 "2008-10-16T22:58:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That’s the thing that really impressed me after spending so much time among forest elephants - how silent they can be. It’s difficult to imagine how an animal the size of a small house can drift through a dense tropical forest while making hardly a sound. Maybe that’s why so many people miss the elephant in the room. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/37 "2008-10-16T23:03:08Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I saw with my very own eyes a hippo in his outdoor paddock at the SF Zoo spray a hose of fecal piss about 50 yards onto some poor tourists that were standing at the rail. I just _had_ to go find video. [Puts Le Petomane to shame.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZNys79o2NY&NR=1) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/38 "2008-10-16T23:44:31Z")
When on photo safari in the Okavango Delta, we had the opportunity to hike around an island. There were three or four elephants about 300 meters away that we were watching. We were told that they had fairly poor vision but a fairly keen sense of smell. One was sort of looking in our direction and then started moseying towards us. Then it started bellowing and hauling ass. We ran like the dickens dropping bits and pieces of expensive photo equipment. It was really pretty scary. God damn it if those Euro kids could not climb a tree worth a shit. There was about a dozen of us up in the tree and those fuckers would not climb up higher as to let the people lower down climb up. If that elephant kept after us, I would’ve yanked one of those fuckers down as a sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/39 "2008-10-17T01:27:28Z")
Most advice for dealing with wildlife boils down to one very simple principle: as much as you may like nature, it does not like you. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101/40 "2008-10-17T01:40:43Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > [QUOTE=Autolycus] > Wow, this thread has totally blown my mind. I thought elephants were kind, gentle creatures. I did, too. But then if you think about it, most people are pretty cool, easy-going creatures. Though there’s always the odd serial killer or child abuser or something. [/QUOTE] “Well, animals are a lot like people, Mrs. Simpson. Some of them act badly because they’ve had a hard life, or have been mistreated…but, like people, some of them are just jerks.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-approached-a-wild-elephant/468101.md?page=3)