Round two concerning the elephants at Pete's Pond
Remember when I was wondering just what the female elephants were about to do with their trunks in regards to the little guy by Pete's Pond? It had occurred to me that perhaps they were helping him towards a drink of water. The thought also came to mind that they were perhaps hoping to "coax" him towards a bath.
Eleanor had the answer, she wrote:
The little guy in front is being gently guided to the pond to take a drink. Not only are the trunks of the ellies behind raised because they’re going to dip them in the pond soon for a drink, but also, the wee, very new ellies are constantly touched with affection by the pack — and for reassurance. If this little one decides to lie down in the water, trunks may be used to help lift him up and get him back up the incline to land when the pack is ready to leave.The very little ones can’t control their trunks. It’s funny to watch. After a few unsuccessful trunk dips where the water shoots out or never reaches their mouths, they dip their heads in the water!I watch this kind of thing daily at Pete’s Pond.
(By the way folks, Blogger has still got a glitch so postings may be sporatic. Seems to like elephant stuff just fine but has been balking at Kentaurian's celestial and my avian material. ??? Donegal)
4 comments:
Nice.
[Marie has attempted to answer questions about Lola and the kid, but the answer is far less meaningful than it should have been considering the idea of Lola fooling around with a younger hawk. I know, I know, and this is a family blog.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/books/review/18grandin.html
December 18, 2005
'Elephants Can Paint Too!,' by Katya Arnold
By TEMPLE GRANDIN
This is a wonderful book for parents to read to young children. It tells the true story of elephants trained to make paintings. "I teach in two schools," Katya Arnold writes. "One is in the city. The other is in the jungle. Some of my students have hands. Others have trunks."
Arnold is an artist and a teacher at St. Ann's School in Brooklyn, and "Elephants Can Paint Too!" features photographs of both children and elephants painting. (Young readers will be fascinated by how an elephant holds the paintbrush - with a crossbar added to the handle, the animal can hold it in its trunk.) With her husband, the artist Alex Melamid, Arnold became interested in the plight of elephants in Asia that had lost the traditional jobs they once performed. When Thailand cut back on logging, for example, at least 3,000 domesticated elephants were no longer needed for hauling felled trees. What to do with all those elephants no longer earning their keep? Arnold and Melamid got the idea to establish schools to teach elephants to paint, and their foundation sells the pictures on its Web site.
Is elephant art real art? ...
In regards to Lola, the younger hawk and fooling around, depending on if we're talking about THAT kind of "fooling around", Lola won't be much interested until the hormones start racing in early spring. :-)
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