Now that I've been at MEF for a little while, I have had the chance to learn more about the beautiful elephant I am working with. As I had previously mentioned, Pooja is 27 and was the first elephant to be born into captivity in Sri Lanka. She was born here, at the Millennium Elephant Foundation, on August 5, 1986. Pooja's mother, Lakshmi, was an elephant here at the time and still is today. Learning more about Pooja has caused me to learn more about her birth, which sounds like quite the process!
Firstly, elephants carry for 22 months - fact of the day I knew nothing about. After 6 hours of labor, with the help of a few doctors, Pooja was conceived in the river, weighing 64kg. For the first two years of a calf's life, they are never separated from their mother (or shouldn't be) as they are still feeding.
Pooja is a very sweet, gentle and slightly cheeky elephant. She is quite a bit smaller than the others (though still very large) and has a funny crooked tail that I've been told was inherited from her father. When she is standing still she is almost always bobbing her head, which is funny to watch....but makes it a little tricky to grab still pictures. Its quite endearing, as all the elephants seem to have their own behavioral ticks - some sway from side to side, some kick their legs. Pooja LOVES her bananas. All the elephants can smell if you have bananas from miles away and will stick their trunks out searching for them until you hand them over. Yesterday I had a mini photo shoot with Pooja, which pictures will be revealed on a certain special occasion, and she wouldn't give up trying to get the bananas I had for her that were being saved for after.
Pooja has a wonderful relationship with Roshan, her mahout, who treats her very well and I really enjoy working with. They have only been together about 6 months, but already have a strong and respectful bond. He is very kind and patient with her, which I feel lucky to be around as not all the mahouts are.
The chains, which you may see in some pictures, are something I asked about almost right away when arriving here. They hang from their necks and are also on their ankles. They don't harm the elephant and are there more for security purposes and emergencies, if for whatever reason an elephant were to go off. The chains on their ankles are primarily used when securing them in their night beds and have a protective padding between the chain and their skin (which is up to 2 1/2 cm thick!!). Pooja has her back two ankles loosely chained together, at the moment, which is a bit of a training method used when an elephant has a new mahout.
Morning routine with Pooja! She is currently suffering from foot rot on her back two feet, so every morning at 'Vet Check' I work through her treatment. Rinse/scrub them of dirt, spray/scrub disinfectant, rinse again, thoroughly dry with a towel, spray with iodine.
Pooja loves drinking water from the hose. She will spend a good 15 minutes slurping from the tap after vet check.
Playing in the river, like no one's watching.
Me, (poser) Roshan, and Pooja after our top secret photo shoot yesterday.
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