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Dumbo v. History of Elephants in the Circus 

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Dumbo v. History of Elephants in the Circus 

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Elephants can't fly. Just thought I'd get that out of the way, since I know you were wondering. Unfortunately, it's in the much sadder, less fantastical elements of Disney's remake of Dumbo where you'll find real-life inspiration.

Actually, the way elephants were treated at the circus in the time of the real Jumbo the elephant, on whom Disney's adorable pachyderm is based, was far too cruel and graphic to depict in a children's movie. What's worse, many of those practices allegedly continue in modern-day elephant training. That's why animal rights activists were happy that Dumbo director Tim Burton chose to use all-CGI elephants and animals for his adaptation. Pressure to end those practices are also part of the reason big circuses like Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey finally phased out their elephant programs. Whether you have to get your hanky ready to watch Dumbo on the big screen (seriously, that song alone has me sobbing), or you've already cried your eyes out over the adorable elephant's journey, you may want to know that in real life, things seem to be much darker.

In case you don't remember from the first 20 minutes of the film, Dumbo's real name is Jumbo, just like the African elephant who came to the London zoo in 1865. According to the BBC program Attenborough and the Giant Elephant, baby Jumbo likely witnessed his mother being killed for her tusks and hide before they shipped him to England. At the zoo he was a famous attraction, and gave rides to children (even Queen Victoria's offspring) all day long. At night, however, he began having outbursts so violent, he broke off his tusks and continually ground them down. Though, at the time, it was thought that this was due to a hormonal state called musth, elephant experts on the Attenborough show theorized that he could have been suffering from extreme pain in his teeth from malnutrition. Studying his bones (which are in storage at the American Museum of Natural History in New York), experts found evidence of extreme stress on his knees, which may have been caused by all those rides he was giving. His confinement and isolation from other elephants also may have caused his awful moods. His lifelong handler, Matthew Scott, wrote that he would calm down Jumbo with alcohol (which is possibly the inspiration for the original drunk elephant scene in the Dumbo cartoon - Burton opted to skip it in 2019).

In 1882, the zoo sold Jumbo to P.T. Barnum, and he and Scott traveled to New York to join the circus. He made his way around the continent as the star of the show until a tragic event in 1885, when workers were attempting to load him into a train car and a freight train slammed into him.

Elephants are very social animals with strong family bonds. In the wild, babies nurse from their mothers for two to four years and live with them until they're teenagers. But elephant trainers usually take babies from their mothers when they're just over a year old. If you want to get really sad, read the Mother Jones article from 2011 that includes the story of baby Riccardo, who was taken from his mother at birth and died during a training exercise at eight months old.

But The Mistreatment Of Circus Elephants Got Much Worse

The bullhook, or ankus, is a nasty looking poker and hook that trainers have used to direct elephants for centuries. PETA has plenty of horrifying videos showing trainers hitting elephants with them. In veterinary records collected for a lawsuit filed by animal rights group PAWS against Ringling Bros. parent company Feld Entertainment, Mother Jones found documentation of bleeding lacerations and scar tissue on the elephants from bullhooks. There are also accounts of the use of whips and electric shocks. All these allegations arose despite claims that Ringling Bros. only trained using positive reinforcement.

Elephants in circuses endure extreme discomfort when traveling in the circus, standing in small train cars, surrounded by their own waste for hours on end. They can also be exposed to deadly infectious diseases, including tuberculosis (which they can pass to humans).

The Consequences Of Alleged Elephant Mistreatment

Yes, most of what animal rights groups say has to be taken with a grain of salt, but you can cross reference this PAWS list going back to 1950 and see that these violent incidents are real. The number of times animals lost it while children were riding them is astonishing.

"Trainers teach routines to animals utilizing methods that are based on reward and repetition to showcase the animals' physical abilities, beauty and their distinctive behavior," reads a statement on the Carson Barnes site.

As Cirque du Soleil has shown, there are ways to attract a big crowd without giant wild beasts. Dumbo 's stars can get behind that idea, too.

"I'm super proud to be in a Disney movie that promotes animal-free circuses," star Eva Green told Cinemablend. "Animals are not meant to live in captivity."

And after audiences see Dumbo, they'll probably be pretty hard pressed to agree with her.

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The Dark History Of Circus Elephants Makes "Dumbo" Even Harder To Watch

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Elephants can't fly. Just thought I'd get that out of the way, since I know you were wondering. Unfortunately, it's in the much sadder, less fantastical elements of Disney's remake of Dumbo where you'll find real-life inspiration.

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Find out and decide for yourself, write a reflection in your reading journal.

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Though in some parts of the world, elephants are used as tractors or kept in zoos, in others they are treated like gods and are symbols of luck.

The origins of the lucky elephant can be found in India and Southeast Asia where they are venerated - so much so that they are included in religious depictions. Ganesha - the Hindu god of wisdom, luck, and success - is usually depicted with an elephant's head, and the god Indra is usually pictured with a powerful elephant by his side.

Instead of using the elephant god Ganesha as a good luck charm, the elephant itself was appropriated as a symbol of luck by American culture in the early 20th century.

There is speculation that this occurred after World War I when there was a lot of media attention on the white elephants owned by the royal family in Thailand (only the royal family could own them and they spent thousands of dollars to care for them), and soldiers came home from the war with more knowledge of Indian gods like Ganesha.

The belief that elephants are only lucky if their trunks are up has no apparent origin in Indian or Southeast Asian culture, but is thought to be a North American superstition. It is believed that the trunk up means that you are being "showered with luck."

Any amulets or statues that you find with their trunks up in other countries are usually created for American buyers.

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Though in some parts of the world, elephants are used as tractors or kept in zoos, in others they are treated like gods and are symbols of luck. The origins of the lucky elephant can be found in India and Southeast Asia where they are venerated - so much so that they are included in religious depictions.

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As the world’s largest land mammal, elephants have quite the commanding presence. But did you know elephants can’t jump? Or that baby elephants lose their first set of teeth and tusks, just like humans? Learn about both Asian and African elephants and the threats facing these highly intelligent anim…

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Elephant Cam @ Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

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Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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Watch the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s Asian elephants — Spike, Bozie, Kamala, Swarna and Maharani — live, 24/7 on the Elephant Cam.

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Donna M. Jackson Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level | Scholastic

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Here is our expert guide to the world's largest land mammals, including key facts about the two elephant species and their natural habitat.

How many species of elephant are there?

There are two extant elephant species: the African bush elephant, also known as the African savannah elephant ( Loxodonta africana), and the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus).

Some taxonomists propose that the African forest elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis) is a separate species to the African bush/savannah elephant, and other believe that there may even be three African elephant species with an additional one called the West African elephant. While the African elephants are closely related, the Asian elephant is quite distinct.

How to tell the different between an African and Asian elephant

Ears The African elephant's ears are much bigger than those of its Asian cousin, extending above the shoulder. It's said that the former's ears are the same shape as Africa, while the latter's look like India.

Tusks Both male and female African elephants grow long tusks, but only male Asian elephants do (and not all males). Some female Asian elephants grow 'tushes' - barely visible, stumpy tusks.

Head African elephants have more rounded foreheads, while Asian elephants have twin domes on their heads with an indent in the middle.

Trunk The tip of an African elephant's trunk has two fingers or 'lips'; the Asian elephant's trunk only has one.

Back While the African elephant's back is concave (with a small hollow in it), the Asian elephant's is convex (slightly domed).

Size In general, African elephants are larger. Adult males weigh up to six tonnes, while male Asian elephants usually weigh no more than five tonnes.

How intelligent are elephants?

Elephants are the world's largest land mammals - and, aside from the great apes (humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans) - the most intelligent.

Are elephants dangerous?

They are well-known for living in matriarchal (female-led) social groups, and although elephants are respected and revered by people throughout their ranges in Africa and South Asia, they are also feared because they can be aggressive and dangerous.

When are elephants most dangerous?

Musth, pronounced 'must', is when males experience increases in testosterone levels of a factor of 60 or more. The changes prepare them for competing for females and make them much more aggressive. The condition is more pronounced in Asian elephants, and can last for up to 60 days. Elephants in musth carry their heads and ears higher than normal and make a characteristic rumbling sound. A bull elephant in musth can be extremely dangerous to anything that gets in his way.

Are elephants mammals?

Elephants are the world's largest land mammal. They're warm-blooded vertebrates that nurse their young with milk produced by mammary glands, and they're hairy creatures (the hairs are just small and sparse, so they don't look furry). That means they fulfil all the requirements to be mammals.

What do elephants eat?

Elephants eat a wide range of plant material, including grass, leaves, woody parts of trees and shrubs, flowers and fruits when available. After rain, they will dig for roots. Asian elephants feed on more than 100 species of plant, and both African and Asian elephants take crops such as millet. An adult needs to eat up to 150kg of food a day - that's 50 tonnes a year!

How much does an elephant weigh?

African bush elephants are not just the largest elephants but the largest land animals in the world, weighing in at around 6000kg and standing 3.2m tall at the shoulder, while females are about 60cm shorter and half the weight. Male Asian elephants weigh roughly 4000kg with a shoulder height of 2.75m, while the 2000kg, 2.2m tall African forest elephant is the smallest elephant species.

The largest elephant ever recorded was an incredible 3.96m tall and weighed a staggering 10,400kg.

How much does a baby elephant weigh?

Baby elephants weigh around 100kg on average, heavier than most adult men, and some newborns have been as large as 120kg. Those are figures for Africa bush elephants - baby elephants of other species are naturally smaller.

What is a baby elephant called?

Baby elephants are called calves.

How long is elephant gestation?

Elephants have one of the longest known gestations of any animal. African elephants have a gestation period of 22 months, while Asian elephants have a gestation period of 18-22 months. Elephants will typically only give birth two or three times in a decade, and young elephants may suckle for a few years.

What do elephants use their tusks for?

Tusks are actually hugely elongated upper incisor teeth embedded deep in the elephant's head (up to a third of a tusk is hidden from view). Elephant tusks have a variety of uses: as a tool to dig for food or water and to strip bark from trees; as a weapon in battles with rivals; and as a courtship aid - the larger his tusks, the more attractive a male elephant may appear to a female.

Can elephants be right or left-tusked?

Yes. Just as humans are right- or left-handed, elephants are known to use one tusk more than the other. This favoured appendage is sometimes referred to as the 'master tusk' and often appears more worn.

Do female elephants have tusks?

Male and female African elephants naturally have tusks, but only male Asian elephants grow them. However, this is changing, and an increasing number of African elephants are being born without tusks. Those that do still have tusks have much smaller tusks than in the past - the average size has halved in the last century.

Why are elephant tusks getting smaller? Because of hunting and poaching for ivory. The elephants with the biggest tusks are most likely to be targeted, so they get killed and aren't able to pass on their big-tusk genes to future generations.

How long do elephants live for?

African elephants have a lifespan of up to 70 years in the wild, but tend not to live quite so long in captivity. Asian elephants have a shorter lifespan of around 48 years.

Do elephants live alone or in groups?

Both African and Asian elephants form female-led, tight-knit groups consisting of a dominant matriarch, her female offspring and other female relations plus their calves. Occasionally, groups of elephants will allow 'strangers' to join them. Living in groups makes individuals safer and allows them to devote more time to caring for and teaching the young.

Do elephants recognise their reflections?

Elephants can recognise themselves in mirrors. Scientists believe this is a sign of greater self-awareness. In one study, an Asian elephant called Happy repeatedly touched an 'X' painted on her forehead while looking in the mirror, an indication that she knew she was looking at her own reflection. Most animals will assume that a reflection is another animal, and look for it behind the mirror.

Do baby elephants suck their trunks?

Yes they do! As in all young mammals, an elephant calf's sucking reflex, which prompts it to drink from its mother's breast, is strong. And when a youngster is not feeding, it may suck its trunk for comfort, just as a human baby would suck its thumb.

Newborn elephants have little control over their trunks and must learn how to use them. They practise by exploring their environment - touching fellow herd members, their surroundings and themselves. They must then master the use of their trunks for feeding. With more than 50,000 individual muscle units in the trunk, it's a complex skill to learn.

Though trunk-sucking is more common in the early stages of life, elephants of all ages do it, even big old bulls, usually when they are feeling nervous or unsure.

Sometimes an elephant that appears to be sucking its trunk is actually using it to smell, placing the tip inside its mouth after touching or sniffing dung or urine to assess pheromones produced by other elephants.

How good is an elephant's memory?

Elephants have amazing long-term memories. Scientists studying three herds in Tanzania found that, during a lengthy drought, the two herds led by older matriarchs left the drought area in search of water, and more of their group survived as a result. The scientists concluded that these older females had remembered a drought that had occurred more than 30 years earlier and knew what to do. One female elephant also recognised zoologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton even though she hadn't seen him for four years. Maybe it's really true that elephants never forget.

Can elephants feel empathy?

Elephants appear to understand what other elephants are feeling. Experiments show that when one elephant is unhappy, others share their feelings, something known as 'emotional contagion'. In these situations, they will go over to their 'friend' and comfort them, often by putting their trunk into the other's mouth, something that elephants find reassuring. Elephants will also assist other injured elephants, and even appear to mourn their dead.

Do elephants have a sixth sense?

Elephants may be able to detect a thunderstorm from 280km away, and will head towards it, looking for water. In 2004, elephants appeared to head for higher ground before the Asian tsunami struck.

How much methane does an elephant produce?

Elephants produce a lot of methane gas as a by-product of digestion. Scientists estimate that the amount of methane they emit in one day would be enough to power a car for 32km.
Main image: © iStock

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Elephant guide: species facts and best places to see in the wild

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Elephants are the biggest land animals on Earth and eat an incredible 50 tonnes of food a year. Here is our expert guide to the world's largest land mammals, including key facts about the two species and their natural habitat.

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