23. Circus Elephants: Hannah's 2017 Advent Calendar

Circus Elephants

A circus without elephants would be like Hamlet without [Hamlet].
—Robert Edmund Sherwood

Perhaps nothing speaks more of the traditional American circus than elephants.

In the late 19th century elephants walked between towns. But walking a five-ton animal across rickety bridges was a gamble. Some rivers could be forded, but it was often a hard call.

When circuses started to travel by train, it was much easier to include elephants. They were stars: they led parades and were featured in the spec and in the rings.

In an elephant “long mount,” each elephant puts its forelegs on the back of the beast in front of it.

Besides, they were a great help in setting up and loading.

See elephants working.

There is a great deal of fascinating lore about circus elephants.

Circus, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
― Ambrose Bierce

Circus elephants had a baseball league, and were costumed by famous Broadway designers. They enjoyed hard drink. The lemonade story in Water for Elephants is based on an actual incident, as is the mistake about an elephant's intelligence based on her inability to follow English prompts when trained in another language.

Elephants were (and are) beloved.

Clearly, there were many cases where elephants had close bonds with their trainers and others traveling with them all season.

But elephants are dangerous.

Bulls have testosterone cycles that have led to their killing trainers, other animals, and bystanders. Most circus elephants were females, but elephants are so large that females are dangerous, too, even when well trained.

And undoubtedly some elephants have been badly abused.

I hate to witness animals in captivity—or see circus elephants paraded down the streets.
When animals are caged, it's a loss of what they are.
—K.A. Applegate

Elephants are herd animals: large herds are natural, living without other elephants is stressful. Small circuses could not afford more than one.

The unnatural poses circus elephants routinely performed were bad for them.

Elephants born in captivity were thought to require less "breaking" than those born in the wild, and circuses have had good success with captive breeding. But there was uneven treatment depending on who was doing the training. Certainly, elephants have been brutalized in circuses. And the public has been made aware that this happened.

Elephant acts became a public relations problem for RIngling. Besides, traveling with elephants became increasingly expensive. Ringling announced elephants would be out of the circus by 2018, but 2016 was their last year.

Something's gained, but something's lost.

I certainly don't want elephants to suffer, but since many zoos are also giving up exhibiting elephants, most people are unlikely to ever get close to the pachyderms. Encountering a live elephant is a breath-taking experience. The poses and behaviors brought delight, though people would not be delighted if they knew that the poses were hard on the beasts.

But it's sad that most of us will probably not experience the wonder of elephants in person ever again.

Where are the elephants who used to work in circuses? Some have retired to Tennessee.


	Find many stories about elephants in the Mammoth but Mesmerizing Major Milestones! Including:
		The first elephant in America The first circus elephants How a baby elephant started the Greatest Show on Earth How an elephant became an adjective How elephants were almost drafted into the army How many elephants were in one circus? An elephant humbug An elephant ballet A libeled elephant exonerated


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