Elephant trainers have a great job. They hang out with elephants all day long, monitor health and behavior, and teach tricks. Trainers begin to work with elephants at a very young age. The first lesson is always to never touch the trainer. Elephants are big, and you can imagine what types of accidents might occur. Training helps to increase both animal and human safety. It also develops a relationship between human and elephant that is unbreakable.
Elephants have been trained for 1000s of years. Most elephant trainers get into this field because they love elephants. Some people know this from an early age, while others learn while they are at university for zoology or biology.
Another source of elephant training knowledge is the American Zoological Association’s Elephant Management Course. Yet, a more recreational, once in a lifetime, option is to attend a 3 day, $100 course at the Elephant Conservation Center School in Thailand.