How to wash an elephant
Once I had the whole week was a dream job. Every morning, I soap elephant.
Inside a lot useful in case if you ever appear the elephant or the desire to drop everything and do something really lovely.
On the Thai island of Ko Lanta that oozes coconut milk and wild honey, five minutes from our hut on Klong jarke the cultural camp is the elephants that tourists ride through rubber forest.
Like any tourist I'm back and got in. And even in order to ingratiate himself to slonopotam, paid for one more ride.
— What elephants-I wash? And how much?
— At seven in the morning.
Will come to help.
Before you wash an elephant, it should be feed, otherwise what's the point. In a six-day elephants eat pineapple truck topper. This. First, it is unloaded, then ramble on the tops of the palm trees, to frayed, then chew. Pounds at 30-40.
From this the next day it turns out about 10 pounds of elephant dung. It's everywhere, but no one (that is, elephants, Konovalov and me) it's not annoying, because the natural environment — not an elephant, so there is not stink, and smells very relatives life.
Actually, elephant dung is a cool thing. Due to the fact that the volume eaten huge, the texture is very rough, and the digestion rapid, the food really does not have time to decompose and it turns out a bunch of slightly fermented chewed up straw. Enterprising Indians even sharpened piece of paper. Seen, Ganesha is portrayed with a scroll? Here. (I wanted to make a joke about sparkling Ganesha, restrained.)
In addition to the truck, the elephants are fed by the tourists.
The elephant to which I was attached, the name is absolutely unpronounceable Thai name, vaguely Bedouin word Niewaba. A young eighteen-year-old elephant, peace and fun, smiles all the time. Amazing girl. In General, all the elephants are different and persons are different, and expressions of these individuals. One of the few animals who recognize themselves in the mirror. And they have rituals with their dead, complex, and very touching.
Niewaba from afar sees me and starts shifting from foot to foot, nodding head and flapping ears. Some kapets children's happiness to see you happy elephant.
After all the fruit from the package loaded in the trunk, go for a swim. To ward off the elephant in the sink, it is necessary to climb. In principle, it is not necessary, but once gathered, what is the empty drive. There are three ways to climb on the elephant. The first one is simple, use it and play tourists. The elephant climb to the wooden platform with the growth of an elephant. While piled up, the elephant still stands nearby. And look at you as a sucker.
The second way is across the Board. The elephant falls to the ground, and you climb up his leg on the neck, closer to the gentle and reliable ears. It's too easy. One — two — three.
But the real slonovoy climb on the elephant. So the elephant easier. He just gorbet trunk stepping stone, you climb up through the forehead. The first time it's funny to everyone, including the elephant.
On the neck of an elephant is very convenient. For the very first time I wore long pants, because he thought, skin like concrete, bristles barbed, parasites and all that. It turned out there. Skin is very pleasant, and the bristles are stiff but supple and doesn't itch at all. Parasites, too, as it was not there. But it turned out brilliant ears.
Ears are hefty, because it is cooler — otherwise, the animal of this size in this climate immediately overheat. Between them and the skull so thin delicate skin that keep there feet is a kind of kinesthetic happiness. Top ears — dense thick cartilage, the perfect grab-bars, if suddenly, there gallop or earthquake. When the elephant sneaks through the bushes, ears, tuck the legs from scratches. And it is also brilliant.
All four knees elephant to bend in one direction, so run and jump, he can not. But can move almost silently. They go on tiptoe, and under the heel have a thick bed of elastic cartilage, that is where that bad ASICs. In the Kama Sutra I was surprised by the turnover, "she is graceful as a young elephant". More is not surprising. The elephant, unlike the horse and even camel is not, and floats directly on the ground. Graceful as a young Indian woman.
Well, to eat on the way, and how.
I used to imagine washing the elephant sort of bathing of a red horse. This means that blue water and the sparkling elephant, and the elephant — one who washes, all in a silver spray. But instead of blue water was a little green channel width of three elephants, the same Klong jark beach. Niewaba went into the water and immediately began to pee and poop. Yes, so, you know, from the heart. Once it became clear who the coast the Indians have learned to log on in the morning in the ocean and there to celebrate all that is acquired. Here I slightly don't want to go to Klong jark beach and decided to watch from the shore.
The elephant lay down on his side and let the fountains of the trunk, and sanawad rubs her brush. The task of this stage is not so much to wash, how much acquasalsa.
Half an hour and clean elephant ready. Climb up on his back, and went home. There, on a dusty, but dry. Back on clean, but wet.
Fountain forgot to attach.