In the afternoons when it was really hot (which was most of the time!) we experience bathing the elephants. After we fed them and walked them the mahoots would guide the elephants out of the enclosure for a bath. We had a tub filled with water and dumped chunks of fruit into it. The elephants would stay at the tub while we bathed them for as long as the fruit lasted- after that they got restless and started looking for more food. We used a water hose and long handled scrub brushes to wash the elephants. We gently washed the tops and sides of the elephants, carefully avoiding their sensitive abdomens and taking care not to run the water into their eyes. For the most part I think they enjoyed their baths. It was also fun to see them fish the fruit out of the tubs with their trunks. I did not know that they eat bananas whole, peel and all!  They often made a lot of grumbling noises, which sounded a little alarming at first, but was not a sign that they were unhappy. I also heard them trumpet a few times which was really great. Those were the sounds that I knew I would miss once the trip was over. The elephants that I worked with were friendly for the most part, but there were others there that could not be touched at all. They were kept in the Newlands area, and I was not scheduled to work there often. I was pretty lucky with my elephant assignments because I got to work with the Midland elephants and they were all good with people.

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