The April 2013 Smithsonian Magazine (DC, US) has a feature article on Abu "Safari" Camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta, where tourists pay over $2400 USD per night to stay in lavish tented camps and RIDE elephants. The author,novelist & travel writer Paul Theroux, developed a friendship with Nathan Jamieson, a young Aussie employed at Abu as an elephant "trainer" , and who spoke of eles "with a matey affection".

Skip to last paragraph- - "...he left her untethered, and when he walked a little distance to fetch her CHAINS and MANACLES...she...knocked him flat, crushing him to death with her huge head".

The article might be anti hunting but Abu's Camp has been there for years. It is or at least was owned by Randall J Moore who wrote "Elephants For Africa' (hard to find but well worth reading) and IIRC he also owned the adjacent block that was used for hunting.

The camp is reputed to be one of the very best anywhere in Africa and is named after one of his elephants that he had a great relationship with & starred in a fair number of movies & TV adverts etc.

Let's also remember that it's not at all unusual to tie down captive elephants in this manner and also that it only takes one mistake to allow an elephant or indeed pretty much any large mammal to nail you.

Sorry if I misrepresenrted a positive operation; the article, however, was unfavorable to those of us who are informed hunters...

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

Let's also remember that it's not at all unusual to tie down captive elephants in this manner and also that it only takes one mistake to allow an elephant or indeed pretty much any large mammal to nail you.

It may not be unusual Steve, but in my opinion it sucks - the height of cruelty. Not the first time a 'handler' has been smeared into the dirt and won't be the last. They all profess to 'know' the elephants, to having a special bond with them, until the fateful moment comes about. I always cringe when I hear people have taken their kids on an elephant ride - they have no idea how dangerous it is.

Riding elephants have been around in India for thousands of years.

Apart from use in battle and for temple ritual purpos or for local royalty to pare around, elephants have been used for timber extraction in harsh swampy terrain.

There have been the odd incident of a tusker in "musth" hurting a "mahouth" (handler). I have not heard of a riding elephant in a national park attacking anyone. If the animal is acting up or in "musth" the authorities would not use the animal for riding until they are sure it has calmed down again.

JMTBW

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Riding elephants have been around in India for thousands of years.

Apart from use in battle and for temple ritual purpos or for local royalty to pare around, elephants have been used for timber extraction in harsh swampy terrain.

There have been the odd incident of a tusker in "musth" hurting a "mahouth" (handler). I have not heard of a riding elephant in a national park attacking anyone. If the animal is acting up or in "musth" the authorities would not use the animal for riding until they are sure it has calmed down again.

JMTBW

There is a world of difference between an African elephant and an Indian elephant. Several African elephant 'trainers' have been killed by their 'charges'. Knowing that, why in the world would anyone put their kid on one? Each to their own, but I will never, ever climb on an African elephant, and I strongly disapprove of them being chained and trained.

Joester

No need to apologise at all buddy....... let's face it. A large number of articles about hunting written by the non hunting media are utter claptrap & usually biased against hunting.

Dave,

I don't disagree with you about how they treat them and AFAIC, most shouldn't be kept in captivity at all but that said, the Abu/Randall J Moore story is pretty unique, very interesting and the set up sort of happened by accident and for good reason.

I'll also say that the original elephants he got involved with were already trained when he met them and were from an American circus so would have been used to the chains etc from probably an early age & definitely before he first got involved. I can't comment about animals that later came along because I simply have have no idea about their history.

More generally:

The book is a bugger to get hold of and it certainly ain't cheap but it's a great read with stunning photography and I'd highly recommend it.

Just a few random recollections about RJM:

You remember the story about an elephant that was released into the Pilansberg many years ago where the elephant some years later got beaten up by a hippo and had a bloody great hole in it and the vets couldn't get near the animal to treat him so they called a guy in who just walked up to it and the elephant recognised him and let the vet treat him? - That was RJM and he trained both elephant & vet so the elephant would allow the vet to walk up and treat him without darting him etc.

Or the ad for something or other where the guy is walking along in the bush with a double rifle over his shoulder, a cigar in his mouth & an elephant right behind him? - That was RJM & (I think) Abu.

Or that famous picure of a very beautiful young lady wearing just a loin cloth walking in the Delta in water up to her calves and a magnificent tusker walking beside her? - That wasn't RJM (LOL) but it was Abu and he was wearing a set of false tusks made by the movie industry for him.

I might be wrong but think Abu was used for some of the scenes in White Hunter, Black Heart starring Clint Eastwood.

I never met Abu but it's said that he'd behave like a normal elephant until he saw a movie camera at which point, he'd let out a trumpet of rage and go into a full charge only to skid to a halt just before he hit the camera and cameraman......... and then just stroll off.

Whether you like RJM or not...... and some don't. His story of how he inherited some circus elephants and decided to take them back to Africa and release them & how that evolved into Abu's Camp etc is immensely interesting.

I should say, I've come up with that lot from memory rather than research but that's about it as I remember. I haven't posted pics from the book because firstly, the book is bigger than my scanner and secondly because I don't own the copyright & so have no right to post them......... but if you can get hold of the book, it's a wonderful and very enjoyable read.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:


Or that famous picure of a very beautiful young lady wearing just a loin cloth walking in the Delta in water up to her calves and a magnificent tusker walking beside her?

I remember that one

IIRC, she was a famous German or Austrian model but Susan may well remember more and I'll post further info if she does.

Had a chance to ride an elephant in Zim. I passed and the response from the PH was, "I wouldn't do it either...I just don't trust them".

No rides for me, way too unpredictable. Go pet a tame cheetah if you want to get up close to wildlife. If he does not like you he will hiss and walk off, not grind you into the ground.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Fulson:
No rides for me, way too unpredictable. Go pet a tame cheetah if you want to get up close to wildlife. If he does not like you he will hiss and walk off, not grind you into the ground.

Very true Dave.

That is why cheetahs are the only cats we keep here in our house.

I wouldn't mind giving a go but the rates for Abu's Camp are beyond what I'd be prepared or able to pay for the experience.

Their website incidentally is www.abucamp.com.

Paul Theroux has some ill-informed and unflattering comments about hunting and hunters in his latest book "The Last Train To Zona Verde". He refers to Abu Camp as Africa's most expensive safari. Paul never lets a few facts get in the way of his storytelling. Sells books, I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by DAL:
Paul Theroux has some ill-informed and unflattering comments about hunting and hunters in his latest book "The Last Train To Zona Verde". He refers to Abu Camp as Africa's most expensive safari. Paul never lets a few facts get in the way of his storytelling. Sells books, I guess.

True, in Dark Star Safari he irritated the heck out of me when every time he would have barely arrived in a country and then proceed with a very certain cause-effect analysis of its economic, political and social conditions based entirely on his opinions. He is, however, a good author.

A guide I worked with in Pilanesberg in the 1990's (from Tshukudu Lodge) was also killed by a tame elephant in Botswana. IIRC also ones of Moore's

quote:

Originally posted by kayaker:
A guide I worked with in Pilanesberg in the 1990's (from Tshukudu Lodge) was also killed by a tame elephant in Botswana. IIRC also ones of Moore's

What was his name?

The Carthaginians had 'stables' of thousands of trained Afican elephants. No doubt they lost a few handlers as well.

Oh well, the price you pay for trying to achieve world domination.

Sorry, but other than the elephants being "trained" I'm still looking for the "tragic" part of this post. I feel for the young man who died and his family, but he brought it on. That's not tragic. Unfortunate, sad, but not tragic.

Randal must have a bloody good lawyer and insurance cover if he is still in business despite repeated incidents resulting in the death of a person.

I feel the same way about riding an elephant as I do about skydiving. Looks like it might be fun, but I'll never know, because I'll never do it!