One of the first things that we had to learn and do was to make sure if our elephant was happy and healthy. We first had to introduce our selves to our elephant and then hand feed it. We need to wear the same type of clothing that the Mahouts (elephant caregivers and is usually attached to the elephant for life) so that the elephant would know that were were "safe". We then had to check the skin, check the toenails for water, that is the only place an elephant sweats - no water means no sweat which means unhealthy elephant. the last things we had to do was to inspect the elephant DUNG! Yep we had to count the last of the droppings, tear it open, with our bare hands and check for fiber content and water. We then had to smell it- NO SMELL. Elephants dung is like composted fibrous grass - with no smell or stench whatsoever. After making sure our elephant was happy and healthy - I had to tell Mae Bua Tong to lie down in Thai and bush off the dirt on her back (lots of dirt and a big back) then it was into the river for the daily washing. It was incredible how well Mae Bua Tong behaved. She loves the water and at one point just wanted to lie down and let me run the scrub brush over her rough skin, I am sure it was like a massage for an elephant.
Next cam a little bath time FUN!
No comments:
Post a Comment