Posing with Elephants

blospz

blospz

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I was at the Pittsburgh Zoo last week and I saw a group in the elephant barn getting up close to the elephants. I know the zoo sometimes has photo sessions so I was thrilled to see this and I really wanted to find a way to get back there. I thought how neat it would be to have a photo of an elephant up close or next to it. Even the experience of touching an elephant would be good enough for me. But then I saw the elephant manager interact with the elephants with his bullhook to force them to pose for photos. I wouldn't say it was abusive, but anytime I see a bullhook pull a body limb to make it move or pulling on their tusk, it makes me cringe. So although a pose may make a more intersting photo, is it right to make elephants do it against their will?

What are your thoughts on posing with elephants? Do you find it's unnecessay and demeaning to the animals? Or do you see it as an opportunity for people to get up close, connect, and have money go towards the elephants?
 
It does seem very circusy to make the elephants pose, especially with a bullhook. This practice sounds like a throwback to the bad old free contact days of elephant care.

If there is some way to get a picture with the elephants without prodding them then I wouldn't see a problem with it.

From what Arizona Docent said about the new Reid Park elephant exhibit there was talk of designing it so that people could touch the ele's ear. I don't know if that actually happened.
 
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DavidBrown said:
It does seem very circusy to make the elephants pose, especially with a bullhook. This practice sounds like a throwback to the bad old free contact days of elephant care.

If there is someway to get a picture with the elephants without prodding them then I wouldn't see a problem with it.
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I agree that bullhooks forcing elephants to pose is unacceptable, but totally disagree with the "bad old days of free contact" comment.

FC has many advantages (and disadvantages - both already discussed elsewhere), and one of these is that the visitors can have much closer experiences with elephants, including posing. Walking elephants through the zoo (as is done at Auckland, Singapore and elsewhere) allows visitors to come very close to these massive animals and really appreciate them, as well as enriching the elephants. I think this, and elephant feeding encounters, should suffice for posing, with actual posing (as at Pittsburgh) avoided.

Here is a youtube video of Burma being walked through part of Auckland Zoo, showing how a relaxing walk for the elephant can be a major thrill for the visitors:
 
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Unfortunately free contact results in many people getting killed. That is why it is on its way out of American zoos. I think that most people agree that this is a good thing, at least in North America.
 
DavidBrown said:
Unfortunately free contact results in many people getting killed. That is why it is on its way out of American zoos. I think that most people agree that this is a good thing, at least in North America.
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OK, I accept most of that.

Getting back to this posing at Pittsburgh Zoo, presumably the elephant/s was FC, and the posers were in the same space as the pose-ees (elephants), which I don't have a problem with. I do have a problem with keepers using bullhooks to make elephants 'pose' in a certain way however. I find this, as per the OP's options, demeaning to the elephants. If the elephants are seperated from the posers, ie. behind any sort of barrier, then paying to pose with them is a waste of money, as you could just pose with them next to their enclosure.

In contrast, a FC pose, e.g. where you feed the elephants or they walk close to you (i.e. you are in the same space as them) and you can pose with them, is (again to use the OP's words):

an opportunity for people to get up close, connect, ...(with) the elephants
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Of course, if you pay extra for this experience, and the money goes somewhere useful, that is also good.
 
There was like a rope barrier in between the elephants/keepers and the group of visitors. So in photos, even if the elephants were not posing, you wouldn't see the barrier. I know sometimes smaller groups can stand right next to their elephants. The only worry I have is with such a small barrier, what would happen if an elephant went frantic? I'm hoping the money for these opportunities go straight to the elephants.
 
Do they still do that at Auckland? I didn't know they did that and had a real shock when I turned around to dash over to the elephant keeper talk and she was right there behind me!
 
OrangePerson said:
Do they still do that at Auckland? I didn't know they did that and had a real shock when I turned around to dash over to the elephant keeper talk and she was right there behind me!
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I believe so, she is certainly still managed FC. Did you like seeing her right behind you though?
 
How can walking a huge animal like that through a zoo full of visitors be safe (for the visitors)?

It just seems like an accident waiting to happen.
 
nanoboy said:
How can walking a huge animal like that through a zoo full of visitors be safe (for the visitors)?

It just seems like an accident waiting to happen.
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Referring to Auckland Zoo, Burma has been doing this since the first episode of 'The Zoo' TV show and most probably even earlier. I would assume that Burma and the now deceased Kashin have probably been walked around the zoo for approx. 20 years give or take. I haven't heard of any accidents regarding any of the Auckland elephants, but maybe they will stop doing this once they import the new females from Sei Lanka.

Australia Zoo also does this but to a greater extent, letting visitors feed the elephants with only a rope barrier separating them.
 
Auckland Zoo's female elephants have always been walked through the zoo, this has been happening since the first elephant arrived in 1923. There are no accidents I know of. I think its pretty safe for visitors all things considered. Singapore Zoo also walks their elephants around the zoo.

I don't know whether any new elephants will be walked around the zoo too, but I expect they will still be FC.
 
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