There seems to be some barbarism behind this "cute" elephant. There are reports that the elephant is trained by "breaking its spirit". It is impossible that this is their own imagination at work. Their intelligence is of another nature (maybe even superior, who knows!). It is naive to expect that an animal not remotely like us would want to do things like us.
I hope not. But it´s possible. I´m sure that this is not their own imagination. Thanks for your comment!