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