Coimbatore : The 27 temple and mutt elephants that are stationed at the Elephant Rejuvenation at Thekkampatti in Mettupalayam are having one the best times of their lives both physically and mentally, thanks to the shower bath and other bathing facilities that are set up in the camp site along the banks of River Bhavani.
Coimbatore : The 27 temple and mutt elephants that are stationed at the Elephant Rejuvenation at Thekkampatti in Mettupalayam are having one the best times of their lives both physically and mentally, thanks to the shower bath and other bathing facilities that are set up in the camp site along the banks of River Bhavani.
According to experts, with very minimal sweat glands only on the gaps between fingers, elephants find it difficult to beat the heat. In the wild, rivers play very helpful to reduce the heat as elephants would enjoy a chillicious bath for long hours in the rivers.
However, elephants in captivity not always enjoy such a luxury as not all captive regions have a river nearby. The condition of temple elephants is even worse as according to sources, temple elephants are bath in water fetched from wells.
The elephants are usually given a scrub and water is poured on them. Whereas, the camp, special arrangements have been made on the river bank to give the pachyderm happy bathing hours.
Despite cutting down on the river bath due to safety reasons, special showers and bathing stations are made so that the animals have a good time. The elephants were allowed to bath in the river during the earlier editions of the camp. But since they did not easily come out of the river while enjoying the bath, the river was ruled out.
In order to compensate that, showers have been set up on the banks so that water is sprayed on the animals on all sides. The animals can also lie and enjoy a scrub on the shower area. A cement structure that allows water to stagnate is also built to allow the animals to enjoy a complete and happy bath.
Mahouts are also happy with arrangements as they feel that the elephants would feel better both emotionally and physically.