Since that "patch", it's been near impossible. Here is what I've found works for me.
Forget "open" taming on an elephant. It's broken.
In a 3x4 pen, if I stand at the elephants rear knee, as close to the belly as I can, and look at its chin, I'll get not only the tame % box, but the feed message. And it works. But there is a very fucking tiny window (for me) in which this works. Even if the elephant moves its head I'll lose the message. The game also hates you doing anything good, so I find I'll be moved slightly with broken game mechanics away, or towards the face (which will cause me getting hit).
Hope that helps anyone trying to tame an elephant. Considering the spawn mechanic is still broken as fuck, and I'll lose tames to magically appearing alpha tigers/lions/cobras....there seems to be no way to protect your animals. Making it impossible to replace them is just a fucking dick move.