THAILAND | Monday, 18 October 2010 | Views [2274]
In Thailand, the traditional way of training elephants to obey mahoots involves breaking the elephant's spirit by forcing it into a small cage and then repeatedly hitting and piercing it with sharp spikes. The elephant learns to respond to pain, and mahoots use a stick with a curved spike on the end to control trained elephants. The Park is trying to change this mindset. They train mahoots to treat their charges with love and respect, and teach them to use positive reinforcement to control the elephants in their care. There is a very strong bond that exists between a mahoot at the Park and his elephant.
