Photograph taken by: Crossroads
The elephants take two baths a day. Once after we have lunch and once after their afternoon feeding time. In the winter time, some of the older elephants just dip one foot in and then turn tail because the water is so cold. In the summer time, the water is so refreshing, the elephants will take multiple baths to cool down.
Last time I came, Kham Pan kept her baths short. Pon had to lure her back in with bread so we could finish washing her. This time, I had the pleasure of watching her spray herself with water during every bath.
Photograph taken by: Crossroads
I enjoy washing her and making sure to clean the area around her eye where her tears fall. She will close her eyes and turn her head towards me in anticipation of a bucket of water.
I used to go into the river and splash her with water. Sometimes, Pon gave me bread to keep her in the water. This time, I often just sat on the beach and let the visitors wash her. I was happy just watching her spray herself with water. Up, left and right. I usually sat close enough to get wet too and that was a fun treat. It’s like rain from a big brown cloud.
Sometimes when Kham Pan was waiting for her basket of food next to the observation deck, she would head down for a brief splash to cool down. However, this didn’t happen very often. Once she made her way to the deck, she usually stays there just in case Pon went to get her basket.
If he knows that she’s really hot, he’ll order her down to the river to cool down even if she’s waiting for food. Sometimes, she’ll walk down halfway to the beach, and then change her mind before she gets to the river. It’s silly, because she is fast enough to go down to the river and back before Pon could grab her basket from the kitchen.
Even though I spend so much time with Kham Pan, I still have trouble recognizing her sometimes. Especially right after a bath. She changes to different shades of grey and brown depending on how dry her skin is and how much she’s sprayed on. If I can’t identify her right away, I will use other hints like if Pon is around, how deep her temples are, the condition of the ears, the length of the tail hair and the pigmentation on her skin.
A lot of the mahouts will take off their pants and save them from being soaked in the river. Sometimes, they’re wearing bright coloured briefs. It doesn’t bother them when it’s just them and their elephant in the water (even though people can see them from the observation deck). However, when they see visitors coming, they hurry to put on their pants. haha
Photograph taken by: Michael Cahill
My two favourites at the park! Duke and Kham Pan. It was a funny surprise when we looked through the pictures and found Duke in the picture with us.
All the pails are for visitors to help splash the elephants with water. They also use brushes to scrub their thick skin. The elephants are supposed to enjoy it a lot.
Sometimes, Pon puts fish food pellets in the pail and I get to feed the fish in the river. I don’t even remember seeing fish before, but Lek has been feeding them and now there are so many. They are also pretty big. People will trespass into the area and fish at night time. It gets the dogs are crazy (as if they don’t fight enough at night!)
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