The HELP Foundation
Visit the HELP website here
Dr Andrew McLean and Laurie Pond founded the not-for-profit HELP Foundation with the aim to improve the welfare of captive elephants through the understanding and application of the science of elephant behaviour and learning processes. Andrew is currently chariman of the HELP Foundation.
OBJECTIVES
- To provide resources and expertise to enable humane, evidence-based of training methods for captive elephants.
- To encourage ethical, sustainable relationships between elephants and humans by providing educational programmes on the biological needs of elephants.
- To improve the safety of elephants trainers and handlers by sharing knowledge of evidence based training methods.
- To enhance the capacity of agencies and authorities to manage elephants in a way that recognises their unique ethological and cognitive needs and capabilities.
- At all times, and in all dealings, recognise local history religious beliefs and cultural practices.
- Providing information to tourists on ethical sustainable methods of elephant training.
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The beginnings of the Asian elephant training project
Whilst working in Nepal as a consultant for a conservation project of WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature), a Finnish science journalist, Helena Telkanranta and other elephant professiosnals (including some Mahouts) knew that there was much to improve in the training of Asian working elephants: an injection of modern animal training techniques. Enlisting the support of the WWF and the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals), the Nepal Elephant Training Project was born.
A Finnish animal trainer, Tuire Kaimio who specialised in positive reinforcement joined the team, however because elephant training, like horse training, involves the use of negative reinforcement (where body-pressure signals are learned), the team realised they needed a trainer specialised in such techniques. The team had already contacted a European trainer with a zoo background, but they did not need to continue their search any longer as they heard that Andrew McLean was conducting a clinic in Helsinki and went along to see Andrew deal with various problem behaviour issues in horses using an eclectic mix of dressage training and ‘learning theory'. Training in this way is not only incredibly effective and efficient but is also the most humane.
Elephants form a large part of the impoverished Nepalese economy, yet the death and injury rate as a result of traditional training is unacceptably high. These giant animals can be as much as 3.5 metres tall (over 11 feet) and weigh 3.5 tonnes. They have excellent memories, and when the males come into season (called ‘musth'), testosterone levels soar to 20 times normal. And they don't forget their torment! When they are confused they show conflict behaviours just like horses do, and they usually get the blame for it too, just like horses. Yet elephants, like all animals, learn easily and without stress with consistent Operant and Pavlovian conditioning.
The staff at Perth and Melbourne zoo generously gave Andrew ample opportunities to familiarise himself with their elephants. On December 5 Andrew joined the WWF/WSPA sponsored team in Nepal to design and implement a teachable step-by-step training programme based on 'learning theory' that has the potential to greatly improve the welfare of working elephants throughout Asia, as well as improve the image of elephant training practices. By day four of the workshop, Nepalese Mahouts riding two four-year old elephants, Saraswati Kali and Kush Prasad, showed the basic moves of go, stop, step-back, and turn in an open jungle clearing. The Nepalese adapted remarkably quickly to the use of modern learning theory. They were the best students imaginable. and enthusiasm for the programme is already spreading beyond the borders of Nepal to other cultures that utilize working Elephants such as Thailand and India.
Andrew was appointed head trainer for the newly formed Working Elephant Programme of Asia (WEPA) from 2007 to 2009. The Elephant Training Project in Nepal was such a success that enthusiasm is already spreading beyond the borders of Nepal to Thailand and India - nations that also utilise working Elephants as part of their cultural heritage.
Following learning theory workshops in Nepal in 2007, the Nepalese Government offered the elephant breeding centre in Bardia, (southwest Nepal), as a pilot programme where all 5 young elephants were to be trained using learning theory principles so that a comparison can be made at a later date with traditionally trained elephants. In 2010 the learning theory methodology was given approval for elephant training throughout Nepal. Last year The HELP foundation (Human Elephant Learning Programs) was formed, bringing together a group of people with various skills to facilitate such training in Asia. The training programme in Nepal is now in its 5th year and our older trained elephants are in the forest successfully enabling poaching-surveillance work as well as other chores such as being used in a tiger census in Bardia National Park. Our work has now extended to India where two very succesful workshops have resulted in the acceptance of the new training model by all high officials throughout Assam state. HELP is also undertaking projects in Indonesia and considering projects in Laos and Thailand. HELP’s programme is dually focussed on teaching mahouts as well as training elephants. Mahouts are taught the use of learning theory and the principles of training that arise from this knowledge. The elephants are trained using a 6-phase programme centred on the progressive shaping of their in-hand and ridden responses culminating in working elephants that are safe, confident and obedient.
