I enjoyed this video clip of elephants at the Save Elephant Foundation's reserve in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They're Asian elephants, but they like rain just as much as (perhaps even more than) the African elephants I remember from my days on that continent.
Yes, baby elephants have fun in mud, just like human infants!
I note that zoos in the USA often seem to have trouble preventing their elephants from making mud-wallows in which to roll. I'm afraid it's a losing battle. If a six-ton elephant decides it wants a mud-wallow right there, it's going to have a mud-wallow there, whether its keepers like it or not!
Peter
Was I taught an untruth as a kid? That elephants use mud as a suncreen, insect repellat (OK, really armor) and as an exfloiant - among a lot of other guesses about why they do stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd from the video clip I'd venture to say baby getting momma into the mud wallow may be a part of the socialization & training process - like little girls learning how to take care of babies by playing with dolls.
If zookeepers want their elephants clean and orderly they ought to do like the natural history museums - stuff them and dust them every few months.
stay safe.
Got to ride and elephant up near Nan while I visited Thailand. Didn't have the good fortune to see them waller in the mud.
ReplyDeleteMonsoon in Thailand! One of the better memories of my Southeast Asian vacation.
ReplyDeleteThanks,