Today we spent the day being caregivers for Asian elephants. Our time at Rose Ranch/Camp Nana really came in handy. Knowing how to approach a horse, groom a horse, and ride a horse were all within our comfort zone. But imagine for a minute that your horse is now 8 times larger and 15 times heavier? This is no horse.

The owner of Patara Elephant Farm gave a great overview of animal conservation issues generally and then of elephant conservation specifically. We learned to identify a happy healthy elephant; to wash and exercise an elephant; and to feed and play together. Each of us was paired with a mahout (a full-time caregiver) and his elephant based on personality.

If you just want to see our happy photos, go to the bottom. If you are as fascinated by elephants as we are then read on…

Happy Elephant? You know an elephant is happy when her (we all had girls so I’ll use the feminine throughout) ears are flapping and her tail is wagging. Those are good signs that it would be safe to approach her. If her ears are up, not so good. Elephants have poor peripheral vision so best to approach from the front and, like  horse, touch her as you move around to the sides and rear. Their sense of smell is another matter and if you have a banana they will find you.

Healthy Elephant? did she sleep well? is she eating well? any digestive issues? is she sweating? To find out we learned to inspect the skin and the poop. Elephants sleep in cycles. They sleep on one side for say half an hour, stand for 10 minutes and then sleep on the other side. If they are sick, they don’t rotate or they stand. So we had to check the skin from trunk to butt for dirt on both sides.

Poop inspection was not so bad. Like Pandas, the food goes in and goes right out so it doesn’t smell so awful. The consistency is something like shredded lemongrass. Not slimy or gross really. Anyway, we were taught to examine the dung to determine how well she chewed her food, a good indicator of her teeth and her age; how much moisture is inside, a squeeze that produces water means she is getting enough water; and how much food she is eating, a volume of four to six dung drops the size of softballs is a well fed elephant.

Sweating? Elephants sweat in only one place – their toenails! Who knew?

The point of learning all of this, it was stressed by the owner, was not only to be proper caregivers for the day but also to be able to evaluate elephants in captivity at zoos back home and know whether they are happy healthy elephants or in distress.  Armed with this knowledge we would be able to take action.

So once the health inspection was complete, we washed our elephants with a special soap and a hard brush and lots of water. They then washed us with a nice spray from their trunks! (OK that was a posed photo but still it was great fun!) We learned some basic Thai commands and then took them on a walk up a mountain for exercise and then through a river bed which helps file their nails – apparently ingrown nails is a big problem and in some zoos they drug the elephant to file their nails in their sleep. Sad right?

When we returned to camp, we were treated with a visit from baby elephants roughly three weeks old. The babies were soooo cute. One was playing with Lauren and rammed into her. Luckily Lauren is agile! The mamas were protective but we got them eating and that got them happy so all good. By the way, elephants are pregnant for 22 months – OMG – and then breast feed for three years! Can’t even imagine.

It was a great day. OK now for the photos…
Enjoy!