Lesson51
Two main techniques have been used for training elephants, which we may call respectively the tough and the gentle. The former method simply consists of setting an elephant to work and beating him until he does what is expected of him. Apart from any moral considerations this is a stupid method of training, for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man-killer. The gentle method requires more patience in the early stages, but produces a cheerful, good-tempered elephant who will give many years of loyal service.
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job. Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do, and are capable of a considerable degree of personal affection. There are even stories of half-trained elephant calves who have refused to feed and pined to death when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer. Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt, but they do underline the general principle that the relation-ship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between fifteen and twenty years, for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away. But animals of this age do not easily become subservient to man, and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages. The captive elephant, still roped to a tree, plunges and screams every time a man approaches, and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger and fear. Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one confidence, and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food. The next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment, a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side.
When several elephants are being trained at one time it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced. It is then left completely undisturbed with plenty of food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly alarming is happening to its companions. When it is eating normally its own training begins. The trainer stands in front of the elephant holding a long stick with a sharp metal point. Two assistants, mounted or tame elephants, control the captive from either side, while others rub their hands over his skin to the accompaniment of a monotonous and soothing chant. This if supposed to induce pleasurable sensations in the elephant, and its effects are rein-forced by the use of endearing epithets, such as 'ho ! my son', or 'ho ! my father', or 'my mother', according to the age and sex of the captive. The elephant is not immediately susceptible to such blandishments, however, and usually lashes fiercely with its trunk in all directions. These movements are controlled by the trainer with the metal-pointed stick, and the trunk eventually becomes so sore that the elephant curls it up and seldom afterwards uses it for offensive purposes.
RICHARD CARRINGTON Elephants
参考译文
驯象有两种主要方法，姑分别称之为强硬法与温和法。强硬法简单地让象工作，打到它照办为止。撇开道德问题不谈，这也是一种笨办法，因为它会引起动物反感，以后甚至会成为杀人者。温和法在初期需要有更大的忍耐，
但驯出的象心甘情愿，脾气好，会为主人忠心服务多年。
驯象首要之事是给它指定一位驯象者，全面负责这项工作。象同狗一样喜欢有一位主人，并相当能体会人的抚爱。当因某种不可避免事件而失去原来的训练者时，曾发生过半驯服幼象绝食憔悴至死的情况。这种极端事例或
许不可全信，但确也说明了象和驯象者之间的关系是成功驯养的关键这一普遍原则。
捕象以受驯的最经济年龄为15到20岁，这时它已基本能胜任重活并能立即赚回饲料费用。但这种年龄的象不容易被人驯服，因此早期必须委之于极强有力的老手。每当人走近时，仍绑在树上的俘虏象就会暴跳吼叫，可能会
几天因恼怒和惧怕而拒绝进食。人们有时把一头已驯服的象栓在近旁以给野象以信心，在大多数情况下俘获象会逐渐安静下来并接受喂食。一下步把野象带往训练场所，这时得将两只驯象分别栓在野象两边才能完成这项棘手的工作。
如果是同时对几头象进行训练，则通常把新来者放在训练已大有进展的两头俘获象的分隔栏之间。然后完全不对它进行干扰，并供以充足的食物和水，以便它习惯于新居的气氛并领会到它的伙伴们并没有碰上特别值得大惊小怪
的事情。当它正常进食时，它自己的受训也就开始了。训练员站在象前面，手拿带锐利金属尖的长棒。骑在驯服象背上的两名助手从两边挟持俘获象，另一些人则伴着单调和抚慰的喃喃这词用手来回摸象的皮肤。据说这能引起象
的快感，同时视野象的年龄和性别以诸如“喂！我的儿子”，或“喂！我的爸爸”，或“喂！我的妈妈”之类的亲热称呼来加强效果。不过象并不会立刻感受这种讨好，而是常常会向四面八方猛挥长鼻。这时训练者用带金属尖的
棒对其进行干预，终使长鼻痛至朝上卷起，而且以后很少会用它来向人进功。
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