Recently, images of a brightly painted pink elephant used for a photo shoot sparked a wave of global outrage. The reaction was swift and justified. No elephant should be reduced to a spectacle or treated as a living canvas. However, this moment demands a deeper reckoning because the animal’s plight is not unique. Elephants are routinely painted, decorated and paraded like this every day. Their silent suffering rarely draws the same attention. If we recognize the injustice in this single case, we must also confront the normalized practices that make it possible. We must ask why these practices have gone largely unquestioned for so long.
The notion of a pink elephant started in the late 19th century, with newspaper cartoons using the imagery to reference a stereotype of drunken hallucinations. Jack London furthered the idea in his 1913 novel John Barleycorn, and Disney cemented the concept in pop culture with the film Dumbo. So when photos of a pink elephant started circulating on social media recently, the familiar imagery hit a nerve.
Last December, photographer Julia Buruleva shared an Instagram post with photos of a vivid pink-painted elephant. The surreal scene looked like AI at first, but the “Jaipur pink” elephant was real. The animal was painted trunk-to-tail, and the photos were staged near the beautiful historic Amer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The photos are attention-grabbing, both of the tawdry pink elephant, but also of the callousness of everyone in the scenes. Staff at Wildlife SOS were livid as we circulated the images among our team. It didn’t take long for media outlets to share the photos, and for elephant lovers around the globe to proclaim their outrage. We soon learned the 65-year-old elephant was named Chanchal, and adding to the tragedy, she had died soon after the photoshoot.
Then it hit us … what makes this painted elephant different? Painted elephants are common props for tourists [at places like Amer Fort], and Chanchal was even painted the official colour of the “Pink City”, Jaipur. For decades, the elephant remained part of the city’s tourism economy. Many of the same people feigning anger about a pink elephant turn a blind eye to the suffering of so many elephants painted in colourful, ‘traditional’ designs.
In her indifference to the animal’s suffering, Buruleva inadvertently created a vivid campaign – quite literally – that highlights the exploitation, pain and neglect of elephants and other animals at tourist hotspots like Jaipur.
The misguided photographer was no doubt oblivious to the cultural mores she was trampling, but her views of appropriate treatment of the elephant were likely influenced by the tormented animals she saw around her in Rajasthan. She was treating the elephant as simply a prop for profit, much like all the tour operators and elephant owners around her.
Artists often try to be provocative and evoke a response, which can be thought-provoking and inspire dialogue. Buruleva’s photos did just that, only not in the way she probably intended. Her images instigated a worldwide discussion of the abuse of elephants for financial gain – abuse she willingly participated in and documented for the world to judge.
Isn’t it time the world is shocked and angered by ALL painted elephants, rather than reward the animals’ abusers?
– Dana
Editor’s note: Our ‘begging’ elephant campaign and Haathi Sewa mobile medical clinic are meant to help elephants like Chanchal. However, owners must have a desire to improve the health of their elephants and be willing participants in the programmes. To learn more about the exploitation of elephants in the tourism industry, as well as ‘begging’ elephants, visit refusetoride.org
Please remember as you make travel plans: If you can touch, feed, bathe, PAINT or otherwise have direct contact with wildlife at a tourist destination, the business is likely NOT ok. This includes animals that are restrained for selfies and photos. These captive wild animals likely suffered for years (and are often drugged) to make them docile enough to engage with people. These abusive businesses exist because tourists pay money and keep them open, rewarding owners for their shameful treatment of wildlife.
