That is an interesting article and thanks for posting it as it is lengthy but extremely informative. Even the most experienced handlers of elephants can face a tragic death and the upcoming mandatory AZA regulations are basic common sense that hopefully ends the sheer stupidity of keepers entering an exhibit with a fully grown elephant. There are those that would argue otherwise but they are a much more diminished crowd these days and the entire zoo industry is better for it. It is just incredibly frustrating for zoos when a tragedy occur before they change their style of management from the dark ages to a modern, protected environment.
An excellent article written by Tim Desmond and Gail Laule that discusses the protected contact training system in detail is this: http://activeenvironments.org/pdf/PC_POLITICS.pdf They discuss the principles on which protected contact is based: human-elephant interaction behind a barrier, and use of positive reinforcement only without bullhooks (unless in life-threatening situations). It is alarming that the AZA accepts a management system as "protected contact" that allows keepers to directly interact with the elephants when the elephants are in restraints (=chained), AND that allows the use of bullhooks/dominance training. I have no doubt that this is due to the fact that many elephant keepers just can`t accept that in true protected contact, it is neither allowed nor desirable to maintain the alpha position of the trainer, so they stay behind the barrier (most of the time...) because they have the order to do so from the management, but continue the training with bullhooks and commands like in free contact. It is obvious the "protected contact" the keepers used at Dickerson Park Zoo was such a mixed system, and that is what ultimately caused the keeper`s death. Continuing to use a bullhook in a routine situation is not a moment of misjugdement, it is the deliberate desicion to stick to the principles of free contact with all its risks. Laule and Desmond adress this danger in the article I linked above and that is EXACTLY what seems to have happened in Dickerson Park Zoo: "Some facilities currently use combinations of free contact techniques in a confined contact setting, and call it protected contact. Keepers work from shielded positions, but continue to use hooks and free contact voice commands and body language to access behaviors. It is important to understand the repercussions of such a mix. To an unknown extent, the animals are being maintained through a process that utilizes negative reinforcement and harkens back to the animal's memory of the social dominance structure. Although both the hook and the target can elicit movement, the hook has significance to the elephant that is neither necessary nor desirable in protected contact. It can create the perception that the trainer is attempting to dominate the animal when the trainer is no longer in a position to back it up. This can result in challenging and aggressive behavior by the elephant."
These zoos do not fulfill their role to educate the public about animal welfare and biology. It`s a shame that such zoos still exist.
Elephants are one of some species whose training necessary requires dominance if 'show tricks' need to be performed. For example elephant won't stand voluntarily in hind legs, if it's not a mating bull. The circus defenders may use as argument the well-known picture of African elephant standing on hind legs to reach high-growing leaves, as example of 'natural behavior' - but this is also a bull.
