The Elephants of Jaipur
by Kay
Elephant bulls aren’t kept in the elephant barn. Cows are more cooperative.
During British rule, elephants were put to work clearing the very forests from which they’d been captured. Timber was in huge demand for the new rail system of India.
By the time the British left, much of the forests of northern India were destroyed. Since then, poachers and tuskers and population growth have all taken a toll. As farming expands, elephants have little habitat remaining. Elephants in the wild now ravage farmers’ fields to find food. Villagers chase them back as best they can to save their crops.
Elephants are still domesticated for heavy construction. Others give rides as tourist attractions.
Our best choices preserve the land and the integrity and stability of its animals. These elephants may or may not have better lives than their cousins in the wild. I’m certain they have better lives than most livestock raised and killed in cruel conditions in the US.
We did not ride the elephants of Jaipur.
left on walnut 
Ouch! I did not see those chains when I was in Jaipur.
I was fascinated by what I understood to be the honoring of the animal by decorating with color, more intricate than on the horses and cows, but seemingly the same idea. Did you learn anything about that?
The mahout and his family didn’t tell us why they were decorated. But the colors all through India were extraordinary, were they not? I’m not surprised that they would paint the elephants, too!
I feel something special about elephants. A couple of years ago I did ride an elephant in Florida at an animal exhibit/circus. I was very excited as I was a bit fearful about doing it and it was proud of myself for overcoming the fear and doing something so uncharacteristic of me. Later at the circus the elephants did some amazing stunts and I felt they were so intelligent and strong and humble, so patient with our gawking. I appreciate now that I was perhaps being quite selfish taking that ride and contributing to the enslavement of a noble being. I think of the Native Americans who thanked their kill for dying in order to feed the hunter and his family, and hope that elephant was somehow aware of my gratitude for what her enduring the injustice of it all did for my spirit.
Long, long ago, I rode an elephant, too. I think that was in Florida, also! We can only know what we know at the time, can we not?
Cindy, have you read Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchyia? It’s the true story of the elephants in a zoo in Japan during WWII. Don’t read it, though, unless you are needing a good, hard cry.
Have you tried elephant biltong? Sounds like a nasty thing to do – to eat elephant, but in northern Botswana, in Chobe, there are now so many wild elephants that they are destroying the area, so some are culled each year, and it is possible to get biltong.
Oh, Roddy, I’ve been vegetarian for twelve years now. I suspect that elephant won’t soon be on my plate–I’ll keep it in mind, though!