Elephant Paya Paints a Self Portrait

[coriremorire]

am proud to have such a talented elephant wid my name :)

[MsGmoi]

How can you not love elephants they are truly beautiful

[InsanityMovie]

I think that he is drawing a Elephant.... :D

[YesxusFreak]

Aww... can I hug the elephant!!! SO CUTE!

[TheBrewchief]

@elephantartaeacp Good to know. Thanks for the information.

[Ilovecats1989]

he did a better job then i could id have to look at a elephant to do that lol GOOD JOB PAYA!

[elephantartaeacp]

@Ilovecats1989 pretty amazing isn't it! thanks for your post.

[Fandorin72]

Is it Nong Nooch park?

[billyspurr]

absolutely stunning.

[itzahazylife]

hi, i was wondering if this elephant had to be taught every detail of painting, or did it come naturally?

[elephantartaeacp]

@itzahazylife Great question! Paya, the elephant in the video, has been taught how to paint, very much like people are taught how to paint. Painting does not come naturally for us either, someone showed us how to do it at some point.

The drawing that Paya is making is a learned series of brushstrokes. He is the only one drawing but she does get verbal help and instructions from his mahout who is standing nearby.

[itzahazylife]

@elephantartaeacp

i read somewhere that wild elephants have been known to doodle in the mud with a stick in their trunk. i'm guessing the drawing would probably be very simple compared to the elephants that are trained and guided, but it's an indication that elephants may naturally embrace the concept of art. maybe they actually understand that they are creating something subjective. that would be quite amazing..we should try it with the great apes.

[MAGICOHATANOFENSHI]

@elephantartaeacp MAHOUT??????

[payapesic]

hey why did you name him paya :(

[elephantartaeacp]

@payapesic Paya is a seven year old male elephant that lives in northern Thailand. In the Thai language, "Paya" means "Lord" or "King", so it is a very honorable name. Thank you for your question.

[gmarie808]

How do they know which color to give the elephant next?

[elephantartaeacp]

some elephants actually pick their own colors believe it or not, but mostly the art teacher or mahout (elephant caretaker) will select colors that are complimentary or that make sense, like green for the leaves of a flower for instance

[tashgurl89]

That was cool. Paya is really good.

[angelemon94]

he's only 5 and he can paint that good? do they get better when they get older?

[elephantartaeacp]

around 4 years old is when an elephant often first learns to paint. not to say they can't learn when they are older but at that age they are very curious and eager to learn new things. As they get older, they develop their particular style but don't necessarily get "better". Paya, however, is exceptionally talented so who knows what the future will hold considering her special skill.

[dulsecielo]

I LOOOOOOVVVEE PAYA !!! SHE IS JUST SOOOO CUTE ! PLEASE BRING THEM TO CALIFORNIA SO WE ALL CAN GO SEE THEM PLEEEEEZ!!!!!!!!

THEY ARE SO TALENTED AND PRESISE

WHEN THEY PAINT THEY'RE SO INTELLIGENT!! I love Elephants

good job  PAYA!

[cove67]

his keeper guides him by pulling on his ear they are trained to do it

[thenotebookscene]

that elephant is so cute!

i want one like that! lol.

it's too adorable...

[djdaveferris]

We appreciate everyone's comments and concerns but for those skeptics, we do want to reassure you that our organization does not tolerate any abuse of the elephants. The core mission of the AEACP is to provide these wondrous animals with a better life.

The training process is based on a positive reinforcement model. At the beginning, the elephant receives positive reinforcement for mark making. This can be either praise or, more often than not, food and treats.

[gmarie808]

@djdaveferris You guys are doing a great job! So good in fact that people just can not believe it so they are skeptical. Keep up the good work!

[NissanSkylineGTR12]

imagine an elephant running around doing graffiti

that'd be awesome

[leonestigres123]

eso si q es ser inteligente , bien inteligente ese elefante , estoy aca escribiendo desde peru , lima , campoy , calle bruno terreros , nunca debemos decir q los animales son tontos , ellos son inteligentes. !BIE!

[Sherlock007]

These elephants are just amazing!! This one is so cute and looks so happy while painting. This is not animal abuse, this is animal love in its highest form.

[calymere06]

Sure is.. just a baby. He's older now and still painting thinks.. even holds flowers in his paintings.

Totally heart-melting, imho.

[gdcmaki]

Feel sad

[Belle19700]

There is a sad element to this. How many centries have these animals been stuck in circuses, abused, treated like shit? They are conscious, pure, intelligent, evidently artistic, beings, and should be treated with respect and love. Animals are conscious, and understand languages. They don't speak, but they understand. This elephant draws, and paints better than I do, and that's the truth. Absolutely amazing!

[limbdarkening]

Just because they don't speak, doesn't mean they don't communicate.

[gmarie808]

@limbdarkening -but they do speak (to each other) we just can't hear them at that frequency. ; )

[shitprince]

Fuck you dumb Human, I'm an elephant and I'm typing this. I love painting! (makes trumpeting sound)

[SavetheAsianElephant]

All animals are products of evolution, humans included - we're all designed to exist in our particular ecological niche. Humans evolved vocabulary and syntax to deal with our complex and vast social networks. Elephants may have syntax and vocabulary, but quite likely don't need to have it. Neither do they need to paint and bingo - they don't. What you're seeing is an elephant being guided to paint. There's no artistic input, just a lot of training and often, abuse.

[Spirituse]

it's actually for charity and these paintings are auctioned off to save the elephants, but as some nutcase posing as a vet typing on as many youtube elephant videos as you can find you probably wouldnt be able to comprehend that.

[SavetheAsianElephant]

I am a vet you fuckwit and since when was it appropriate to abuse animals for charity? For £20 you can beat this child, all proceeds go to children abuse charities. Good logic there.

[flyingmonkey5000]

yeah it moved a paintbrush on a peice of paper definantly not animal abuse

[gharju]

well you know, humans are animals too! it seems like a lot of people aren't aware that or maybe they just like to make that impression on me

[Neil6000]

Nice Computer Graphic Imaging.

[VENOMOUSTESTAMENT]

wow! THAT IS TOOOOOOOO CUTE!

[jamal49]

Amazing video! Elephants are incredible beings. Intelligent, sensitive, perceptive.

[WizardofWitNJ]

Fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[gmerah]

That was amazing. I think we humans tend to underestimate animals when it comes to their intelligence.

[gmarie808]

@gmerah - Humans are retarded; we are the only animals that produce trash (& tons of it!) and make our ecosystem unsustainable.

[Lexaaa21]

wowser =D lovely

[thetruejaneysue]

Elephants are absolutely amazing animals. They can be so deadly, and so gentle. So wild, and yet very subdued. So inelegant but amazingly artistic. These are extremely smart animals who should always be treated with respect and kindness.

[weezlpeep]

I'm sorry but this video is kinda fake... im not saying it's completely fake, but you can see the person behind the elephant pushing and moving its head, the elephant was just taught to stay still while this happens.... I've seen this before, and quite honestly, I find it kinda sad that people make animals as inteligent as these do stuff for the pleasure of humans....

[doodofdoods]

How is pushing the elephant's head going to effect the Elephant's trunk? I agree it's rather crappy that we use these animals to entertain us. The shelter, food, and human affection they probably like, but the forced labor and beatings they get ruin the whole deal.

[alvesky]

Are you sure? Have you seen it in real life? Are they mean to the elephants? It's not easy this world, I just wish humans could treat animals well...

[Ajak28Hype]

they dont need to, they dont speak in our language, they only communicate through elephat talking and art...in other words, why dont you learn how to speak elephant?

[Ikimono]

hmm, thats a good point you have there. :)

[andrea4286]

Beautiful :)

If they are this smart, I wonder why they can't learn sign language, or how to draw letters/words?

[MisoVegan]

no opposable thumbs.

[beanNronin]

One of my dogs says to the other, "Humans are crippled, they have to do everything with their paws."

[LHudson73]

No but they do have prehensile trunks which are just as useful. What a stupid comment to a picture of an elephant using a PAINTBRUSH. In a masterful fashion, I must add.

Oh and also elephants have been observed communicating in the wild. They can hear other elephants that are miles away, and their correspondence is below the range of human perception so how do we know that it doesn't have vocabulary and syntax?