Have you ever seen one of the many videos of an elephant grabbing a paintbrush, dipping it in paint, and producing a painting similar to something a 5-year-old could create?
Why elephants paint
Images of elephants painting have recently been making the rounds on the Internet. In addition, the paintings of elephants are being lauded as a fundraising tool ostensibly for elephant conservation.
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I’ve wondered for a long time whether this elephant painting phenomenon is “good,” “bad,” or somewhere in between.
A list of questions comes to mind:
Why are the elephants in captivity in the first place? Are the painting elephants rescued (i.e., not taken from the wild or bred in captivity for entertainment? )
Is the painting a form of enrichment for elephants who for whatever reason can’t be released into the wild?
Do the elephants that paint enjoy the activity? Do they participate of their own interest and volition?
Are the elephants forced to paint under threat of physical or psychological punishment?
Is painting yet another performance stunt for tourists and the profits from the painting therefore support and encourage elephant abuse and exploitation?
As highly intelligent animals, it is entirely possible in a rescue situation (i.e., the elephants are not acquired for the sole purpose of display nor perform tricks for visitors) for an elephant once given a demonstration on how to hold a paint brush, to dip it in paint and then create an image of his or her design using his/her highly dexterous trunk, and for that elephant to gain enjoyment from the activity.
If the funds generated from subsequent sale of said paintings directly benefit either the care of the elephant(s) (again rescued, not acquired for exploitation) or the protection of wild elephants through habitat protection or anti-poaching efforts, it’s hard to say what could be wrong with the situation.
I however, cannot say with confidence that I am aware of any such situation to point to as a good example.
“Painting elephants” has taken off as an attraction in Thailand and has been popularized by the well-meaning efforts of two Russian artists who endeavored to sell elephant paintings to “save them.”
From the artists’ own accounts of their endeavors, it is revealed that indeed many if not most painting elephants in Thailand are young elephants who have been taken from their mothers and “trained” to perform various stunts for tourists with painting being one more stunt.
The artists recalled that many if not most Thai elephant handlers called “Mahouts” are “indifferent” to their elephant charges. Treatment varied from mahouts that shouted at elephants who failed to paint to those that gently encouraged their elephants to paint.
However,in every picture I have seen of “painting elephants,” the mahouts hold at hand a ready bullhook —evidence of a fundamental reliance on abusive training methods.
Elephants were also frequently chained to posts while they painted. In addition, at all of the facilities with painting elephants, the elephants were force to perform circuslike tricks for tourists. Such stunts are traditionally achieved through fear, force, and intimidation.
Even if the photos shown in promotional materials or websites don’t show the bullhooks and chains, a simple Google image search of the “elephant camps” listed as the source of the paintings shows ample images of handlers with bullhooks and circus-style tricks performed for the applauding tourists. Elephant rides are also a staple of these camps.
Also, almost every “painting elephant” is a very young elephant — who should still be with his/her mother.
How the funds from sale of paintings by elephants is used is also highly variable.
Some of the higher profile paintings offered for sale in New York were said to benefit conservation of the species. A closer look revealed that the money would be used to set up a “milk bank” to provide specially formulated milk for baby elephants that are “orphaned” or “weaned too early.”
This sounds harmless, but one must wonder if “weaned too early” actually means “forcibly taken from their mother to begin ‘training’.”
Indeed, the removal of baby elephants from their mothers and poaching of baby elephants in the wild to use as performers is a rampant problem in Thailand.
My advice is this: Ask yourself the above list of questions before deciding to support any such activity by purchasing a painting by an elephant artist to make sure you are not inadvertently supporting cruelty and exploitation.
Elephant Training Methods
While watching an elephant paint is an amazing sight, we can’t help but wonder whether the training methods and results reflect animal cruelty.
A 2014 study on four captive Asian elephants at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia sought to identify stress-related behaviors around the activity of painting. While the authors found that the elephants had a neutral response to painting—not stressful, nor enriching—it seemed that when an elephant was not selected to paint, it displayed non-interactive behavior. This is seen as a possible signal of stress in the animals.
In addition, PETA has cited several American zoos that use harmful training methods to get elephants to paint, perform tricks, play instruments, and more. Not every zoo that organizes elephant painting uses aggression to encourage the elephants. However, PETA argues that animal sanctuaries should not force animals to do tricks at all, whether sustainable training is ensured or not.
Activist organizations like the Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival Foundation (EARS) warn that elephants can undergo extreme discomfort in the training process. Repeated discomfort can detract from their quality of life, especially when they are forced to paint the same picture over and over. Critics point out that videos of painting elephants often feature trainers standing nearby with bullhooks in their hands—evidence of the physical pain that’s used to teach them such tricks.
Furthermore, many of the painting elephants are very young, at an age where they should still be with their mothers. It raises questions about what they’re doing in captivity to begin with, and whether there’s a chance they were captured for the express purpose of performing, or if they could somehow be rehabilitated for a return to the wild, instead of being used for entertainment.
Ethical Elephant Training
Fortunately, not all elephants are taught to paint to entertain tourists or for monetary gain. The nonprofit Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project was established in 1998 by two artists who use the elephant-created art to benefit elephants in human care as well as those in the wild.
According to the project’s website, the training process is stimulating and based on positive reinforcement, and part of the group’s mission is to educate elephant trainers about how to safely and carefully train domesticated elephants. The result is a collection of different paintings that showcase individual elephants’ artistic styles.
Funds gained from selling the paintings go to local communities that rely on elephants for their value in tourism, as well as conservation agencies that reintroduce elephants into the wild and to fight illegal poaching in Southeast Asia.
Still Concerning
It is difficult to support any kind of trained behavior that differs greatly from a wild animal’s natural tendencies. The role of a sanctuary, ideally, is to allow an animal to live as close to its normal life as possible, perhaps with an eye to returning the animal to the wild; teaching them to paint does not seem to align with that goal, particularly if it’s not a learned behavior that the animal would be inclined to do independently.
As humans, we should question our tendency to anthropomorphize animals and derive pleasure from watching it. What entertains and delights us may in fact be a source of great indignity and pain to the animal itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you train an elephant humanely?
Nonprofits like the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project show that domestic elephants can be trained using positive reinforcement, not torture methods. However, many animal rights advocates are against all use of animals by humans—they might argue that using elephants for art is wrong.
How do you know whether an elephant painting has been made ethically?
If you’re considering buying art made by an elephant, make sure you do your research on the organization behind it to make sure the elephants are treated well. Only source elephant art from a 501(c) nonprofit organization.
