jungle life

Elephant Dung Paper

Elephant dung paper is not a gaint roll to toilet paper that elephant use. Elephant dung paper is paper made from elehant dung.

First they boil it. Then stir it to losten up the fibers. After a few more step up get paper.

The elephant show. It starts with a bath. The Mahouts take the elephant into the lake for a preshow bath.
Ring! Ring! Hello? Who is it? ... Oh, It for you. I am sorry I thought that was the telephone.
The elephant band.
OK guys follow me.
The artist.

Every moring we take Pumb-Mee to get a bath. See, I am washing her hair.
I thing she got soap in her eyes.
I think she is looking for her rubber ducky.
I think she found it.
Baths over, let get out of here.
A day at the Baths

Im ready to start my Mahout training. The first day of training we practice riding.
I have new pants.
New shirt.
New atitude.

You see in may hand my new Mahout tools. The elephant hook and the knife. The hook is one the tools that we use to communicate with the elephant. We use voice, touch, and empahty. The hook is an extention of our touch.

The knife is used in the jungle. I will talk more about the knife in another section.






The first day we also learn that it is our job to clean up after the elephants.




Look Ma I am A Mahout(trainee)

You see Elephants are Huggable and lovable.


Wheee......
This baby elephant like to play.
If you hug an elephant will she hug you back?
Monica Feeding a bay elephant at the elephant Hospital.

Don't try any of these things at home or the zoo.

We are at the Elephant Hospital. I am disinfecting a wound this elephant has on his foot.
By measuring the elephants waist and using a formula you can find his weight.
Many of the medical supplies at the elephant hospital has to be made by hand there. You can't count of finding gauze pads elephant size at the local 7-11.
Now we are bandaging the foot.
You can see his wound. He stepped on a land-mind. It is much better now but still needs to be looked after.

This is the Elephant Hospital. It part of the Elephant conservatory. One of the few if not the only elephant hospital in the world.


This elephant has a bullet wound. He was in musk and the people did not know how to handel a Musk elephant and shot him. The next elephant I believe stepped on a land-mine. He has a big hole in the bottom of his foot.

This is another elephant with a foot wound. This time it was one of his wear feet. Back feet heal much slower then front feet.
The following elephant was owned by a guy who owned a hotel. The elephant was something like an attraction for the guess. They feed him people food since he was a baby. This elephant is malnourished. His body has not developed properly. His mental and physical growth has been retarded because of improper nutrition.
This is an old lady elephant about 70 years old. A log fell on her trunk.
She has a problem digesting food.

The following day she died.

To be a Mahout you must: Love the elephant. Be patient with the elephant. Many mahouts began training with one elephant and stay with the same elephant for many years. The relationship between mahout and elephant can be very deep and profound. You must first ask permission and protection from the elephant God, Gansha before you begin training to be a Mahout.
In the top picture is Brian from Australia, Monica from Switzerland and me (Lawrence) from USA. Asking permission and protection from the God Gansha to be trained as Mahouts.

First think in the morning, we go to the jungle to get the elephants. it good to bring the elephant a snack. Because she may be hungry and she will think better of you if you bring her something good to eat. This Pumb-Mee. and the Mahout is Tavee. Tavee has a stick of Sugercane for Pum-Mee. Elephants really like sugar- cane.
We keep the elephant chained at night. You don't really want an elephant wandering around unsupervised.
We are off to get the elephant we go.
This sugar cane is really good.



Beginning the day.
Next to the baths.