Asian Elephants

Not too sure about this elephant putting a wreath on me...........

Maybe by now you have read about the elephant in India that was released from abusive captivity. He was 50 years old and his feet were shackled in spikes until he was rescued just this week. He was owned by an Indian drug warlord and survived on handouts from people who passed by. When the elephant was freed the people spoke kindly and softly to him and he cried. Really. I saw the pictures and it made my heart break for this gentle animal. Especially, since my Mom and I had a few hours to spend with these beautiful creatures in Bali. It made me sad that there is cruelty in the world to animals and people. However, we visited an elephant sanctuary where the elephants are treated kindly. Oh they were the CUTEST. Let me tell you a little about it.....

All these elephants wanted was a snack. They were like giant golden retrievers, smart and gentle. Their tusks were not what I thought they would feel like. I thought it would feel like a soft squeegee or like my sons best friends hairless pug. Their trunks are rough like a heel with a cracked callous. They have sparse bristly hair on their trunks that are REALLY poky. These were Asian elephants, much smaller than their African counterparts. The way you can tell the difference from an Asian Elephant and an African Elephant is the Asian elephant only has one finger on its trunk. The African Elephant has two. They were SO sweet.

Elephant says: Where's my snack lady? 

See how happy she is? 

Look at those AWESOME toenails! 

I loved the sensation of them curling their trunk around the snack. Which was some sweet, barky stuff. 

Uhhhhh.....not sure if I can do this......nervous. 

Mission Accomplished

Ohhhhh boy that is unexpected.... and their trunks are HEAVY like a thirty pound rope resting on your head. I am glad my nose is just a little nose and not an appendage. 

And then.....there was the BABY. Who was TO DIE FOR, and just wanted......snacks. 

It has this adorable halo of bristly hair and it just loved its caretaker. See it lean against him? Can you see the Momma elephant close by in the background? 

I wanted to squish that cute little thing. It was SO sweet. 

 They let the elephants go for a swim in a big lagoon. They were so happy to be in the water they were rolling around and leaning up against each other. Then when the caretaker called to them, they BOTH SUNK deep into the water...just like my kids do.They were totally immersed. It's like they were saying, "We can't hear you..." Finally, after about ten calls they came and went to get their dinner. 

This is a male elephant, it has tusks you see. We went for an elephant ride. It was slow and bumpy! We had such a grand time spending an evening getting up close and personal with these beautiful gentle animals. 

I hope we can all be kind to animals and each other XOXO The Sunny D