NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 2, 2002: As more and more elephants that were once employed in logging camps enter the free market, India grapples with the problem of such domesticated tuskers being turned dysfunctional as a result of rough treatment and little up-to-date medical care from their unprofessional owners. Today, India’s population of domestic elephants is well above 2,000 and growing. The animals are valuable. A big tusker can fetch up US$14,500, which is the price of an high-end car here. But they are expensive to keep and owners often cut corners, spawning an increasingly problematic population of elephants. There is a legendary bond between elephant handlers, called “mahouts,” and their charges, but for the most part no such bond exists between elephants and their new owners. One famous place where elephants can be taken home for a price is Sonepur in the state of Bihar. A traditional fair was inaugurated there last week at which, it is said, literally anything can be bought and sold. Calculations by locals put the turnover figure for elephants alone at $207,103.00. There is no sales tax and no regulations beyond tenuous attempts by the state’s wildlife department to monitor the elephants. Many of the elephants have dubious pasts and are of doubtful disposition, which could make them liabilities to new owners who, unlike the traditional mahouts, do not know the art of harmonious coexistence.
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