Original Elephant Painting - NGeo Wild on Tape 

"I have to do nothing but give her a brush...(and pinch her ear to remind her of the good ol' torture days)"

Try getting a house cat to paint anything like that. The elephant whether is trained or not or is aware or not, it's still amazing!

Look, that trainer even has the bull hook in his hand as he walks in.

Towards the end..I see the trainer outing his hand behind the elephants ear as if he guides his trunk movement

it's always the same picture by Suda, may be she was made to practice to paint repeatedly til she had it just so? I'm wondering what's the truth behind all this?

Noy is twisting the fark out of Hung's ear... not sugar & love....

These National Geographic people are blind to the pain that was used to train these elephants.

I think the people who are screaming "abuse" are a little misguided. The animal isn't getting hurt in any way. Is it something an elephant would naturally do, no, they're being guided by their handlers, but they live a good life. I'm ok with these people making money, i hope they can support their families and take good care of the animals. It also shows how much animals can do, and that we're all part of a big family of animals. Would i wish all of this wasn't necessary for people to realise how valuable all life is? Ofcourse. Would i wish everyone cared for the wellbeing of animals just because? Ofcourse. But that's not reality sadly enough. Most people only start caring when they can see something in the animal that reminds them of themselves. It's just the way it is and hopefully awareness of how amazing all life is will grow bit by bit.

I'm Sri Ganesha and I approve this message!

this whole thing is very sad and upsetting :(

I'm really disappointed that Nat Geo would do a piece on this. These animals are often abused as they are trained to do this. Elephants are not on this earth for our amusement. I thought we were all waking up to that.

Wish they showed the elephant from different angles to see if a trainer is standing by its side guiding its movements with the paintbrush.

These two remind me of the two from the first Jurassic Park when they first see the dinos and they get all stunned .. "They do move in heards.." I can admit I'd be stunned too

I read an article where someone broke it down. According to the article the trainer is taping and pulling the elephants ear to "drive" the elephants trunk in the direction they want. You can see in the video the trainer grabs the elephant's ear, immediately after handing him the brush.

How much does the elephant trainer control the movement of the elephant's painting, I noticed the trainer with his hand behind the elephant's ear, perhaps signaling, where the paint strokes should go.

the elephants seem to enjoy it, and seem to be pleased & proud of their work.

It is amazing that elephants can manipulate a brush so well. The instruction on what to paint comes from the trainer and is the result of a great deal of practice and repetition. I doubt that the elephants could do this without their trainers standing next to them, prompting and giving direction for every stroke. Still quite amazing, though!

so sad 😔

This is amazing to watch. But I'am waiting to see the elephant erase the canvas with white and consciously make a correction. ! that would be even better

Notice how he grabs the ear of the elephant and appears to squeeze it. It’s a warning to the elephant. While training in the morning and evening he’ll have something he pricks the elephants ear with that causes pain so that the elephant later in front of tourists paints as it’s been trained to do. Trained with pain

Look at the trainer standing behind her left ear with his hand behind her ear. He is pressing his finger on the place that he exerted pain during her training.

It s amazing

someone mentioned that the trainer was pinching the elephant's ear to guide it to draw. Seeing the video i believe the comment written in vietnamese/thai as there is option to translate it into chinese after the comment.

Weird how the trainer is always putting his hand behind the elephants ear

God created an animal to be more wise and far better than humans. Yes training, but a human can't do this. Let's enjoy the moment.

They are pulling on the elephants ear the direction they want the brush to go. Do you see how intently the handler is looking at the painting? Come on people this is not conservation.

look at the white parts of their skin, its not pigmentation those are scars

I’m absolutely shocked and disappointed this is an NGEO video. Of course elephants are intelligent, sensitive, empathetic mammals. However, the fact remains they have been TRAINED to paint. The ABUSIVE, torturous, and sometimes deadly methods used to break and train elephants in Thailand, and elsewhere, are widely known and documented on videos and stills. Those are well guarded secrets the mahout don’t want out there, as it is their livelihood. The mahout has trained the elephant to move the brush in various directions in response to various cues to their ear, and the same picture is repeated multiple times a day, day in and day out. Why on earth would an elephant need “comforting” via touching and moving it’s ear where it connects to the body (the most tender spot)? There are no videos of elephants painting that don’t have a man holding it’s ear. Not a single one. Why do you suppose that is? To say this practice is horrible and not natural for the elephant in NO WAY demeans the intelligence or beautiful sentient beings that elephants are. But I do wish people would wake up to the cruel and manipulative ways of greedy people who abuse and exploit these, and other, wonderful beings in our animal kingdom.

This no more significant than a parrot that can imitate pretty much any sound they hear or show dogs that can perform entire dance routines, with their trainer.

This amazing, intelligent- albeit, exploited animal is performing an elaborate trick. It doesn't paint a sky-next or a river-after that. It always paints an elephant holding a flower, or whatever it has been taught to paint, by repetition, and with the aid of reward, or possibly punishment. It is pretty remarkable when you first see it, but one wonders at what cost does the elephant learns to do this?

Look, m not trying to jump to conclusions, but it is incredibly sketchy that the trainer keeps his hand behind the elephant's ear. He might be pinching or sticking it with a pin whenever it messes up or thinks about stopping. He says it is for comfort or encouragement or whatever. Absolutely bull. How is it comforting to have a hand underneath your ear? Why would an elephant who wants to paint need comfort? Why would the ear be more comforting than anywhere else on the body that is in plain sight? And as for whether the elephants understand what they'e doing, likely not. They've been trained to do the same thing repeatedly. The strokes are so memorized, and all the elephants draw in the same pattern: tree first, then elephant, then leaves/flowers on the tree, then grass, then name. Someone who is truly being creative won't follow the same rhythm each time. That's not to say that elephants are not creative, but they are clearly just doing what they've been trained to. It's like if you teach someone a song in another language. They may be able to sing the song perfectly, but that doesn't mean they have any idea of what it actually means...

So. It’s a parlor trick

I don’t think for a minute that National Geographic would endorse this if there were cruelty involved. Not for a minute!

I want to see vidio of training them to paint to see how it works. Most animals are motivated by food. If kindness then it's cool,but if not then it s sad.

most Nice and proudly

HOW?!

give that elephant some cold beer!

Human beings are so stupid and naive. If you want us to believe these beautiful animals are not abused, tell the trainer to not walk in with a F'ING BULLHOOK.

Holly shit that was along time ago

How is the elephant aware if what it is painting? They r taught to paint that. The painting could be anything. Also the elephant is tortured. Sure elephants r relatively smart but they are also easier to control and happen to have trunks that can hold a paintbrush.

can they draw peanuts?

Humans force kids to do things they are not good at so I don't see how this is "torture." As long as it uses positive reinforcement (of course!!!!) and if the keepers let elephants who dislike doing it not do it after a while of trying then this is definitely humane. However, I don't know if they use positive reinforcement.

70 dislikes are giraffes 🦒 that can't paint better than elephant

I love the retro tech and RU-vid

one day. im gunna become the president and stop all of this for every animal

Picasso..@ his Best.¥

That's just Awesome! Also, the money from these paintings, hopefully, would go to help support the people in the village, which to me, is great!

I love ng(National Geographic)don’t you

We are not forced to perform animal tricks then why these lovely creatures are forced to perform human activities. A person who cares for animals will love to watch its natural behaviour rather than a sad elephant forcefully doing all these things.

My country🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭

Not one interview with an animal welfare expert. Only zoo employees. They mentioned about cruelty in the logging industry but not the tourism industry???

Why does that cruel man has no softness on his face? He's been pinching that poor elephants ear so hard after giving him paintbrush. Why doesn't he saty away?

But who was the first person who thought an elephant can be taught to paint? Its audacious, oh preposterous!

8:04

To all of you who are saying these elephants were not abused to paint. Go to the wild and find all the wild elephants in the world and give them a paint brush and a canvas. See how many will paint for you and how many will ignore or crush you.

Watch how he grabs the elephants ear all the time, he twists to make it stop then manipulates the ear to tell the elephant where to move the trunk. Very simple trick, but how did they go about making it do this? Just like the physics fooled the scientist, they've fooled natgeo.

Any place that lets ppl ride elephants is not a good sanctuary. The seat sits on the weakest part of the elephant’s back and causes a lot of pain. The elephants are obviously intelligent, but it’s still unnatural for elephants to be painting.

🥰❤❤❤👍👍

Fake news show the animal painting the whole picture?

Cruelty Disguised.

Really if elephants could conceive of a painting it would be an elephant holding up a gigantic flower? Yeah that is something an elephant can relate to. The paintings are so “paint by number” people. Elephants are intelligent amazing mammals. If given a chance to paint this is what they would come up with-room decor?

they said she wasn't being abused

Hoax!!! Show multiple camera angles

Ofcourse you can force an elephant to paint whit hurting it as long as it "needs to" and no we can't see do they hurt them only whit this video.

In my opinion, the elephant that paints a picture of an elephant does associate the image with the real thing very much the same as humans do. The most realistic images are, of course, photographs but the ability to recognize visual forms that evoke the idea of a particular object can consist of the most minimal elements, such as a few pencil strokes to invoke the impression of a cat, lets say. Once taught that he can paint, the elephant continues to learn and embraces the activity of "creating symbols." It provides mental stimulation. The symbols we humans have created (language) started as vital communication and cooperation, but soon developed further into expression for the sake of expression (art). There's no reason to not help the elephants along their evolutionary journey. Intelligent creatures are constantly evolving to become even more intelligent -- it's only natural.

You can lead an elephant to the canvas but you can't make it paint.

*TORTURE!!!!*

Everyone thinks it's a pin behind the elephants ear but I have a different theory. I think he's just signalling where the elephant should move the brush.

Not cruelty, but control. Watch them put their hand on his ear and guide the elephant in the painting process. They cannot spell and have no gift for language. I am torn, but feel the elephants do enjoy the interaction and have no clue about the slavery they are in.

its true but they were TORTUREd to do that

It's not cruel. If she doesn't want to paint you can't make her.

I believe this is all done by abuse to the elephants! This is WRONG by all counts! I love the elephants no matter what they do...They are beautiful and lovely animals who WANT their dignity and certainly deserve their dignity as well!

Horrible animal abuse.

How do y’all know if they were abused to do this????

Elephant Artists? Here’s Why Making an Elephant Paint is Cruel, Not Cute

Poor Bob Ross they make stand up paint landscapes all day. beat brush frustration don't support crueltey to Bob Ross. they make him hold a brush. this what people sound like. when put human place of animals make sound even more silly.

Well. I like to paint but I am not really good at it. If I think somebody push my hand I think it want get much better. So in my mind, they somehow like it and I believe the put a lot of affort in. But sure better than Josep Beuys.

Nhéo tai Voi ác quá 😢

ehem if this elephant been put through pain or suffering wheres the evidence on the truck? Hmmm also on top of that if u look at other videos of elephants their trunks move and quiver constantly and their trunk is a big muscle so its going to quiver and twitch and have muscle spasms. I mean look at us we quiver when we even try to stay still they have to hold up heavy things we don't but we still quiver. So i think you saying that this poor elephant is in pain or suffering is flawed Especially with out evidence. That elephant also paints amazing so maybe ur just jelly that elephant has more skill then most lol just saying.

I'm not sure that humans could learn as well if you pull their ears. When elephants are going to rule the earth because human beings make a big mess and anything today?

In this video the man said, the elephant painted is what it was trained to do and it unable to paint a tiger. That is true every one know that seem he doesn't understand human and animal let me clarify, painting is belong to human's technic and the elephant is an animal, every one known why they been called animal. The animals they only known what they been doing in their life's living they have never seen things that human been doing, painting isn't easy, even through the human have been at school for many years till retired still can't paint, if the elephant had been trained to paint the flower and they automatically can paint you or me then to day we would have go to war with elephants and they won't been called animal. If some one able to trained a pig, dog, tiger, lion, bear, fish or any animals other then elephant and monkey to pain that person will be in the record that ever been before.

There is a lot of propaganda videos going around. What he have in his hands can be a treat, a banana most likely. Bananas can look like nails depending how you hold them. He just letting her know that he has a treat.

Stop patronizing elephant rides or paintings. They are not for entertainment, rather they suppose to live in wildlife. That’s a clear animal abuse!

Veganism is the only way to truly understand and appreciate that we are all cut from the same cloth. Vegan for life, today! You can do this!

You people are so two faced.You show elephants being tortured and then you got a camera watching them paint? I'm glad I'm seeing this so I won't be watching nature anymore.How rotten yous are.How evil to give there owners attention on TV,You lost a fan here.To think I donate to wild life and your so double standard

Animal abuse 💔😭

It's so fake 😒