elephant handling

Elephants in captivity are in most cases Asian elephants captured in the wild. Selective breeding of elephants is impractical due to their long reproductive cycle, so there are no domestic breeds. African bush elephants and African forest elephants are less amenable to training. There are estimated to be 15,000 to 20,000 elephants in captivity, of a total population of 40,000 to 50,000.