Elephants are usually kept chained, even in their pens, because their owners don't want them to run away. Even baby elephants are chained so that they are out of reach of their mothers. This means it is up to the humans to let the animals touch each other. It's not entirely the fault of the human handlers either because they are trained to treat and manage elephants in a particular way. The government has expectations for keeping strict control of elephants in the tourist areas.
Elephants have been captured, trained and used for many purposes throughout history, including for the transport of humans and goods across difficult terrain.
Recently, elephants were very important for helping in rescue operations such as during a bad flood a few years ago and after the big earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015.
