In a first, Kaziranga mahouts get training in Thailand

KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that two elephant Mahouts -- Kasim Ali (Kaziranga Range) and Sanjeev Pegu (Agoratoli Range) attended the three-day training workshop from November 6 to 8. She mentioned that the event was organized by the Human-Elephant Learning Programs Foundation (H-ELP) and provided an introduction to principles and practices aimed at advancing captive elephant welfare through an understanding of the most relevant scientific knowledge available. The workshop focused on positive reinforcement techniques. The key trainers and facilitators included Dr. Andrew McLean, Dr. Portland Jones of the H-ELP foundation, and Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury of Wildlife Trust of India. Ghosh explained that positive reinforcement involves adding a stimulus to the environment to increase the frequency of desired behavior. "As the aim is to increase specific responses or behavior, positive reinforcement applies gentler and softer methods of training using reward systems. Traditional elephant training tends to focus on correcting unwanted or undesired behaviors. Positive reinforcement has a more constructive and rehabilitative psychological impact on the elephants and their relationship with their caregivers by significantly reducing stress, pain, and fear," she pointed out. Noting that learning begins for elephants the moment they start to interact with people and their surroundings after birth, Ghosh stated that positive reinforcement has been used for generations in training animals. She emphasized that if introduced appropriately, the learning experience for an elephant improves drastically. During the training, a practical demonstration of a sequence of verbal and signal training was exhibited. Desensitization techniques were demonstrated in elephants, along with methods for managing painful or fearful experiences, which are useful for working with dangerous animals and conditions later in life. The training event in Thailand was also attended by Mahouts from Nepal, Laos PDR, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The KNPTR, measuring about 1,300 sq km, is home to more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos. The world-famous park is not just a habitat for rhinos but also for Asian elephants, Royal Bengal tigers, wild buffaloes, and many other animal species, while it is also home to thousands of birds of over 125 species. India's seventh (fourth in natural) UNESCO World Heritage site, the KNPTR is spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Biswanath. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujitchakrabortyne@gmail.com)