Any living organism responds to touch. As the beat of life pulsates in every cell of the body, there is a desire to reach out and explore. An elephants trunk, a highly sensitive and complex organ comprised of more then forty thousand muscles, is built for sensing. It takes more then a year to gain mastery of this unwieldy organ and watching a baby elephant running around flapping their trunk is high comedy. Later, the elephant will use it to grasp food, suction water, dust itself, lift, smell, sound production, as a weapon and to touch.
Humans share may traits with elephants. As infants, both are defenseless and are totally dependent on adult care. There is a long apprenticeship from infancy to childhood at the hands of a care-giver and elephant behavior is also determined by learning rather than instinct. Elephants learn from the accumulated wisdom of their forebearers- what humans refer to as culture. Both species have naked skin and need the reassurance of touch to prosper. Each has deferred sexual maturity, has kneecaps and wrists (yes, the front leg joint in an elephant is actually a wrist), know how to use tools, have large brains and long memories, are compassionate and have an awareness of death. They also share some of the longest life-spans of mammals, more then 80 years.
There are few Asian elephants left in the wild. Due to habitat loss, many elephants rely on handlers called mahouts for food and care. Separated from their kin, they lead solitary lives chained to a post and are forced to toil or perform for their fare. Because elephants are social animals, they miss the company of their kin. Separated from their family unit, they exhibit anxious behaviors that can become chronic. Neurotic circular pacing, fidgeting and dullness in the eyes are but a few examples of the effects of isolation on these intelligent creatures. Many exhibit behavior typically associated with PTSD: an abnormal startle response, antisocial behavior, inattentive mothering, hyper-aggression, and premature hormonal changes in adolescent males.
Without the moderating influence of adult males and females in elephant communities there is a spike in raids on villages and the killing of human care givers. It is interesting to note that when adult males were reintroduced into a decimated herd in Africa, wayward behavior abated.
Allan Schore, a UCLA neuroscientist who has done research on human and elephant brains, notes that the limbic brain or emotional brain is highly developed in both species and is impacted by attachment to a caregiver. He observed a resilience in affect regulation, stress reduction and social communication when the family unit is repaired. Females learn to take care of their young from mature females that help with raising and regulating baby elephants. Males are separated from the herd when they become aggressive and live with other males in a bachelor herd which is itself dominated by a mature male.
When working with Asian elephants in captivity, it is essential to understand not only how elephants process information but, each elephants specific response to stress. Application of some of the mainstays of human trauma therapy - affording a sense of safety, positive reinforcement of good behaviors and allowing social interactions with other elephants would allow their systems to settle. A gentler approach by their caregivers without discipline or withholding of food, water or treats helps heal wounds from the past.
I have spent the past 20 years studying human-elephant interactions while using Somatic Touch with elephants who had injury from accidents or trauma from abuse. I have learned so much from my time with elephants. Elephant conservation is an essential part of my work and I work with others to help educate and support the health and well being of African and Asian elephants. Only a careful management of captive elephants and decentralizing their management to the local level in the wild will stop the poaching that is decimating the herds. Refusing purchase of ivory from any source blocks the profit that keeps this scourge going. Your support of elephant sanctuary's allows you to get close to them in a safe way while encouraging riding camps to cease their harmful practices. Speaking up when you see abuse by mahouts or others will help owners seek alternative elephant management skills. Don't support outfits that control elephants with punishment. Tell them you will spend money elsewhere that treats elephants kindly. We all have to help to bring stability to the life of elephants that are teetering on the brink of extinction. I encourage you to reach out and be proactive.
Monday, December 16, 2019 at 01:53PM 
It's the little things that matter most to elephants. They said..."it's not how often you come and visit it's that you be present when you are with us." They communicate with each other all the time in low tone rumbles that we can't hear. They will reach out to you, letting you get a glimpse of their world if you let them. They are fascinated and entertained by you and will accept all that you have to offer be it food or love or friendship. They will let you touch them because they know how much you need to be touched.