Elephants in captivity: Revolution or reform?

By Shiran Illanperuma

There’s no such thing as a domesticated elephant.

“90% of elephants in captivity are caught in the wild as calves. For any animal to be domesticated, it must be born and bred for generations in captivity. If an elephant is not a wild animal then tell me why we need heavy chains and a bullhook to manage them in captivity,” charges Elephant Conservationist Dumindra Ratnayaka. 

Ratnayaka campaigns against the cruel treatment of elephants in captivity and the powerful mafia involved in illegally snaring young calves. He charges that the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has been far too silent about this for years though things are slowly changing. Still, he paints a horrifying picture of what transpires when an elephant is caught and ‘tamed’.

“A common method is to tranquilise the baby and scare away the herd. Another tactic is to tranquilise the mother so when the herd moves on the baby will stay by her side. In these cases the mother will usually die because she isn’t revived after being drugged. Regardless of the method involved, separating mother and child causes emotional and physical pain to both,” he explains.

The horrifying ‘crush’ process

Daunting as the process of capture is, the true horror begins with what is ominously known as the ‘crush’ process, wherein the calf is trained to follow the instructions of its human owners. “The only way known to ‘crush’ a calf is to break its spirit through what amounts to torture. The calf is kept in a small cage, beaten, exposed to loud and distressing sounds and prodded with a bullhook– a device that it will learn to fear for the rest of its life,” says Ratnayaka.

“The whole idea is to establish human dominance through fear. The crush creates post-traumatic stress, the scars of which – both physical and mental – lingerwell into adulthood,” he adds.

Elephants observed in the wild are active for up to 20 hours a day walking through vast swathes of forest and eating a variety of foliage as well a number of other things such as sand to get salt. An elephant likely spends around 80% of its time feeding. In short, they are by no means stationary creatures.

Elephants in captivity however, are given little to no opportunity to act out their natural instincts, says Ratnayaka. Many are often tied with heavy chains, around the head and two legs, or sometimes around all four legs. While a loose knot of chains is a reasonable safety measure to inhibit sudden movements, many captive elephants are known to develop gruesome abscesses on their legs due to overly tight chains.

Fate of captive elephants

Private ownership of elephants in Sri Lanka is legal, as any individual or organisation may apply for a permit from the DWC. While captive elephants are often seen as a symbol of prestige by private owners, the reality is that maintaining one may cost you anywhere between 75,000 to 100,000 rupees when factoring in feed, medicine and a full time mahout. This in turn drives private owners to rent out their elephants for profit.

An elephant working in the tourism sector can often bring in up to 150,000 to 200,000 rupees a month. It’s a stiff fee for any tourist operator to pay, so maximum use of the elephant is ensured by making it available for rides up to eight hours a day. Elephants are also occasionally used for logging in areas where bulldozers and tractors cannot access, however riding remains the most popular method of making an elephant profitable.

“Elephants that are used for riding wear a structure made of wood or steel for the riders to mount. The Tourism Development Authority outlines that a maximum of four riders can sit on an elephant at a time though there is no shortage of evidence that this is regularly disregarded,” says Ratnayaka.

“An elephant’s back was never designed to carry a load. Anyone familiar with elephant anatomy knows that the spine has several bones that protrude upwards and outwards, sitting on the back applies pressure to these points and can cause long-term damage. If at all necessary an elephant can be ridden only on the neck,” he adds.

There’s no shortage of anecdotal evidence that elephants in tourism are often overburdened, carrying up to six people at a time along with a heavy harness. Assuming that six adult humans are anywhere between 60 to 80 kg each, Ratnayake estimates that elephants in tourism end up carrying a weight equivalent to a minivan at times.

Another physiological feature that works against elephants in captivity is the design of its feet. Ratnayaka says that the padded feet of an elephant are designed to walk on grass or gravel, and certainly not the flat-tarred roads used during festival and tourist rides.

The facts presented by Ratnayaka ultimately present what many have already suspected, that under the novelty and exoticism of a captive elephants is a dark underbelly.

A measured approach

Srilal Miththapala, another Elephant Conservationist, with experience working with the Pinnawela Orphanage, the ETH and even the Dehiwala Zoo, takes a more measured approach to an issue that has become – quiteunderstandably – emotionallycharged in the mindset of progressive Sri Lankans and animal rights activists.

“Chains and cruelty,” he muses. “The emotions here are very big and the stakes are high. Having eyeballed elephants in the wild, it’s impossible to not be overwhelmed by their spirit. But when you look into the eyes of a captive elephant, there is no such spirit, only a dead sadness deep down.”

“I’d like to think I’m on the same wavelength as many animal activists. We want a common utopia. One in which there are no elephants in captivity whatsoever, where elephants are only found in the wild and are not abused for religious festivals. But the reality is that we have to look at this in a practical manner,” he explains.

According to numbers available to Miththapala, there are a little over 230 elephants currently living in captivity in Sri Lanka and a further 40 elephants at the Elephant Transit Home (ETH) in Udawalawe. Of the 234 in captivity, 71 are held in the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, seven at the now notorious Dehiwala Zoo and 120 belonging to private owners. A further 38 or so are illegally-owned elephants which have been taken into the custody of the Department of Wildlife.

While many demand that these creatures be unchained and released into the wild immediately – andtheir places of captivity subsequently shut down – Miththapalainsists that such an approach is naïve at best and discounts that fact that many of those elephants in captivity are now unsuitable for adapting to conditions in the wild.

“Let’s say we put a complete stop to capturing and taming new elephants. We are still left with 230 odd elephants in our care that mostly cannot be rehabilitated. These animals have become accustomed to humans and depend on our care and patronage. What we need is a long-term plan to care for these animals.”

Human Elephant Conflict

However Miththapala cautions that even this will not entirely solve the conundrum of elephants in captivity, explaining that as long as the Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) continues, the influx of orphaned calves will not cease.

As a growing human population continues to clear jungle for settlement, elephants are faced with a shrinking area of land to inhabit, causing violent confrontations which lead to about 250 elephantdeaths per year alongside 60-70 human deaths. To put things into perspective, that’s about four elephants dead per weekand four humans per month.

“The elephant is a protected animal under Sri Lankan law and rightfully so as it is a very powerful and intelligent creatures with an intricate social life. However, the grim reality is that the elephants who are killed in these encounters are, more often than not, mothers who leave behind orphaned calves in need of care.”

“Solving the HEC is another kettle of fish but until that is done we have got to put mechanisms in place to look after orphaned calves, many of whom are severely traumatised and often outright disabled due to injuries. We can shout from the treetops about how bad the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is but ultimately we overlook the great amount of good they have done,” he added.

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

Indeed, Pinnawela has received a degree of criticism of late for its perceived cruel treatment of elephants, particularly the use of chains, which injured elephants as well as callous treatment from mahouts. However the establishment, which was the first elephant orphanage in the world, has also achieved a great deal of good says Miththapala.

One of many examples was the case of Raja, a young male tusker who was taken in after suffering a shotgun wound that blinded him in both eyes. Though his wounds were treated, his eyesight never returned; however this elephant went on to live peacefully for many years in captivity, being relatively well fed and looked after.

“If this was any other country the creature would have been put down. I for one am proud that we took him in, even if it was in chains,” Miththapala said.

Various other examples exist of Sri Lanka’s system of captivity working to recover elephants hurt in the HEC including the case of Namal, an elephant at the ETH who had lost a leg and was attached with a crude bucket to enable walking. This ad hoc prosthetic eventually lead to an abscess but with the intervention of Miththapala and researchers from Thailand, Namal was eventually fitted with an appropriate prosthetic.

“All of these are good things that must happen if we are to combat cruelty against elephants. Orphanages and rehabilitation centres will be required to help elephants. They may not be perfect but there are success stories to build upon.”

According to Miththapala a key reason for Pinnawela’s failure to maintain good standing in the public eye is a fundamental lack of resources and support, leading to inexperienced and overworked mahouts as well as a critical overcrowding of the orphanage itself.

“If you count the recently introduced illegal elephants, Pinnawela holds about 85 in total. Mind you this is a place that was designed for a maximum of 40 elephants. The mahouts tell me they have 20 cartloads of dung a day to dispose of and nowhere to put it. This should have been a fantastic place for orphaned elephants but we need a long-term strategy to manage the existing herd while including a natural enclosure to keep elephants in musth so they cannot hurt themselves or others.”

Elephant Transit Home

The Pinnawela orphanage isn’t the only well-meaning institute to care for elephants that is being over-burdened, says Miththapala. The Elephant Transit Home, which rehabilitates orphans to be sent back to the wild, also faces challenges, thoughhaving released around 100 elephants into the wild so far it is a reasonable success story.

“One of the elephants rehabilitated and released early on was a six to nine year-old calf. Today she grown up and has integrated with a herd and has two calves of her own, it’s fantastic.”

While the ETH in Udawalawe holds about 40 elephants at the moment Miththapala recommends that at least two more transit homes need to be set up around the country, one near Wilpattu National Park and another near Wasgamuwa National Park.

“If ever there is news of a calf in distress in say the north, the team from Udawalawe has to scramble into a pick-up truck, pool money and drive for around eight hours. Then when they finally do rescue the calf, the poor traumatised creature has to endure the bumpy eight-hour ride back to the transit home. This simply won’t do. We need more transit homes and a well-equipped rapid response team.”

“People often assume money is a challenge when it comes to this issue and on the ground it certainly seems that way. But the Pinnawela orphanage rakes in Rs. 731 million per year which goes straight to the big black hole of the treasury. If even a fraction of that was ploughed into rehabilitation efforts, think of the difference it could make.”

Illegal poaching of elephants

The HEC however, is but one source of orphaned elephants in captivity – thougha significant one to be sure. Other sources include illegal poaching, demand from the tourism industry as well as demand from religious cultural festivals – predominantly the Sinhala-Buddhist practice of peraheras where elephants are dressed up and paraded with a variety of other human performers.

Regarding illegal poaching of elephants Miththapala estimates that anywhere between 60 to a 100 elephants may be snared per year though accurate statistics are hard to come by due to the nature of the practice. “There is not much we can do here but strengthen existing laws and ensure swift prosecution. Other than that the key is to reduce demand as much as possible,” he said.

This would seemingly be a hard sell especially for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry which thrives on using its indigenous elephants to attract foreign tourists. However Miththapala says that the Hotels Association will be coming out with a statement soon against the use of elephants in tourism. In fact the only reason they cannot cease use of elephants immediately is due to forward contracting of elephants for use in events such as weddings, he says.

“Private ownership is a no. We must stop it immediately. We should of course follow up and regulate the care of the existing 120. Once these die off we shouldn’t allow more to be privately owned.”

“Zoos however are a bit more complicated. The Dehiwala Zoo is terrible especially with its circus performances. I have tried explaining to the mahouts that circus should be a dirty word in our vocabulary but the less said about this the better. We can’t release these animals into the wild but perhaps they can be absorbed into Hambantota or even Pinnawela to create a sort of open range zoo.”

Elephants in peraheras

The most controversial use of elephants however, and the one hardest to have an open and honest discussion about, is in Sinhala-Buddhist festivities like peraheras. Elephants as a whole are quite sensitive to sound and are therefore distressed by the incessantly loud drumming and trumpeting during the festival. 

Elephants at peraheras are often seen swaying from side to side – acomical action that many assume to be the elephant ‘dancing’ to the rhythm of the festival music. However experts call this behaviour ‘stereotyping’ and identify it as a sign of intense stress. To top things off, elephants are often starved before a perahera to ensure that they do not drop dung during the festivities.

While all these factors have attracted vehement criticism, the practice has been hard to prevent – oreven reform – dueto its cultural weight. Bringing a more measured approach to the table, Miththapala asks, “Why can’t we have a core base of well-trained elephants to serve the cultural purpose of the perahera? If we keep a herd of around 20, along with a few appropriately designed lorries and experienced mahouts, we could even bring in some additional income to maintain the orphanages.”

The wealth of cruelty experienced by elephants in captivity is perhaps matched only by the wealth of knowledge and experience available from Sri Lanka’s many elephant conservationists. With a spike in mainstream coverage of elephant related issues and popular sentiment showing increasing sympathy towards Sri Lanka’s iconic elephants, change may not be too far ahead.

For elephant lovers like Ratnayaka, the message is simple: “Elephants are part of this land. They deserve to be free like us, not to be enslaved for life. Let’s enjoy our elephants in the wild. After all, we don’t need them tethered in captivity.”

- Pix courtesy Srilal Miththapala