Ethics of elephant experiences explained by a zookeeper from Australia who is volunteering here made good sense to me. Because elephants are often born into working in logging camps and can’t survive in the wild, and they eat 10% of their large body weight daily, they need to do something to earn their keep unless there are massive donations for them. This is Bun Song (sp?). She is 71 years old and started in logging. She doesn’t like the protein balls because she had to take medicine in them for a while 7 years ago so she throws them on the ground sometimes. They have a routine where twice a day they get treats from strangers, a mud bath and bath in the river. They sleep in the jungle at night. The mud is an insect repellent. They have horseflies that will bite and lay eggs under their skin which will then hatch and eat and make a big wound. At times she closed her eyes like she was cat napping during this process Then a nice rinseAnd trot on down to the riverMore rinse and scrub to take off dead skin and notice any fly bites earlyMore photos with the people who fed her treats. Yes, silly, but each elephant sticks with the same 4-5 people to keep it from being overwhelming. And again, it keeps them fed and cared for. She is a special being. She does what she wants in there too. She actually had a stroke 7 years ago a “laid down for three months”. She still has some spasticity in her left front leg and circumducts a little to walk. but she’s still living her life. I truly value my time and chance to connect with her that day.
Wow, I can’t believe she let you hug her big trunk like that! She doesn’t look like she minds the attention. So cool. Definitely had to look up circumduction. 😄
Jessica Wandering 
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