Guwahati: In a first, two mahouts from the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam were nominated to attend the ‘Gentle Training Workshop’ for elephant handlers, owners and caretakers at the National Elephant Institute in Thailand’s Lampang from November 6 to 8, 2024.
The training was attended by mahouts Kasim Ali and Sanjeev Pegu of the famed park’s Kaziranga and Agaratoli ranges, respectively.
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The three-day event, organised by the Human-Elephant Learning Programmes Foundation (H-ELP), provided an introduction to the principles and practices aimed at improving the welfare of captive elephants through the application of relevant scientific knowledge and positive reinforcement techniques.
The key trainers and facilitators were Dr Andrew McLean and Dr Portland Jones of the H-ELP foundation, and Dr Bhaskar Choudhury of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
Positive reinforcement involves adding a stimulus to the environment to increase the frequency of behaviour. Since the goal is to encourage specific responses or behaviours, positive reinforcement employs gentler and softer training methods using reward systems.
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Positive reinforcement has a more constructive and rehabilitative psychological impact on elephants and their relationship with their caregivers by significantly reducing stress, pain and fear.
Traditional elephant training, on the other hand, tends to focus on correcting unwanted or undesired behaviours.
Learning begins for elephants the moment they start interacting with their surroundings and people after birth. For generations, positive reinforcement has been used to train animals.
If introduced appropriately, the learning experience for an elephant is drastically improved.
During the training, a practical demonstration of the sequence of verbal and signal training was exhibited.
Desensitisation has also been demonstrated in elephants to reduce their response to painful or fearful experiences. This process is useful for working with dangerous animals and managing challenging conditions later in life.
The training was also attended by mahouts from Nepal, Laos PDR, Thailand and Sri Lanka.