Interactions
with elephants
September 2005
In 2003, ecoAfrica brought you an article from
Earthyear Magazine that discussed whether or not we should be
riding elephants. In this article, the elephant riding industry was
described as “fledgling” with only 2 operators in South Africa at
the time. We have since seen the industry growing at a rapid pace
with elephant riding popping up in the most unusual places. Since we
are looking at the plight of elephants this month, here is a recap
of a few of the issues we discussed back in 2003, and an update on
where we stand in 2005.
From a biological perspective…
Using elephants that are the “left-overs” from a cull may mean that
the individuals are traumatised and unpredictable due to the
forcible removal from their natal herd. Elephants function in a
strict social hierarchy with established bonds between kin – without
this hierarchy, elephant behaviour can become a problem: An example
of aberrant behaviour of young orphans was witnessed in the
Pilanesberg National Park, where rampaging young bulls in musth
(heightened testosterone levels) attacked and killed 40 white rhinos
over three years – order was restored and a dominance hierarchy
established with the reintroduction of older bulls from the Kruger
National Park. Is an effort being made to reintroduce captive or
orphaned animals into the wild? If not, why not?
Elephant populations are thriving in certain regions in Africa,
and culling has become a necessity in order to sustain a healthy
ecosystem – does this mean more orphans, unless contraception
becomes a successful population control method?
From an anthropomorphic perspective…
Is an elephant borne into captivity an unhappy elephant? Is there a
way to responsibly and humanely train wild elephants? Should they be
trained at all for commercial gain? The intense debate surrounding
the training of elephants is obscured by the argument that
individual animals are “allowed” to survive, and “pay their own
way”. Training methods are unregulated and may vary from animals
being beaten into submission as is practiced by Mahouts, to positive
reinforcement of commands.
 From
a commercial perspective…
There has been an alarming increase in the “trade” of orphaned
elephants due to the popularity of elephant-back safaris and hunting
safaris. This also begs the question as to why, during a
‘professional’ cull, orphaned elephants are allowed to survive? From
an anthropomorphic view, it would be more humane to put them down
with the rest of their herd as these animals are known to form
extremely close family units. However, from a trade perspective,
these orphans signify money, therefore creating a market for
orphaned elephants.
Our perspective…
As a company, ecoAfrica Travel does not promote the taming of wild
animals. As such, we will not support elephant-back safaris. We will
however be glad to arrange a safari where you can
view wild elephants in their natural state, interacting with one
another and their environment undisturbed.
It is of great concern to us that the industry is mushrooming, with
more and more wildlife lodges and operators offering elephant
riding. It is equally concerning to see how little resistance the
industry is receiving. It is now possible to ride an elephant in
most of Southern Africa’s major wildlife viewing areas. Whether you
are visiting the Victoria Falls, Okavango Delta, Kruger National
Park, Pilanesberg National Park, Cape Garden Route – or even
Oudshoorn, a small karoo town (where one can unfortunately ride
ostriches too) – you will be able to interact with tame or trained
elephants. At some of these destinations, elephants have been moved
between safari lodges as many as three times. As in any commercial
industry, demand fuels production and we hope that as awareness
increases, so the appeal of riding elephant will decrease.
Any
comments and feedback would be appreciated.
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