A somewhat-modified version of this essay is posted at:http://elephantcollaborative.org/2019/05/29/nighttime-release-and-zomian-elephant-based-transportation/ This 2018-19 essay condenses material in several chapters of a book of mine, Giants of the Monsoon Forest: Living and Working with Elephants, published by W. W. Norton in 2019 (https://wwnorton.com/books/Giants-of-the-Monsoon-Forest/) Nighttime Release and “Zomian” Elephant-Based Transportation in Kachin State (Burma/Myanmar) and Arunachal Pradesh (India) Jacob Shell …