Kruger National Park, South Africa

Elephants in the river at the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka

West Midlands Safari Park, Kidderminster

Elephant

Punnathurkotta or Punathur Palace, also known as Anakkotta or Anathavalam, largest elephant sanctuary in India, part of Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple, owned by Guruvayoor Dewasam Board, Govt. of Kerala.

Punnathurkotta or Punathur Palace is a fort and former palace. But the palace grounds are now used to house the elephants belonging to the Guruvayoor temple,and has been renamed Anakkotta (meaning "Elephant Fort"). This Elephant Camp is one of its kinds in the world and is considered to be one of the largest elephant sanctuaries housing around 60 elephants. The elephants are ritual offerings made by the devotees of Lord Guruvayurappa. This facility is also used to train the elephants to serve Lord Krishna as well as participate in many festivals that occur throughout the year. The compound also has a naalu kettu, a traditional rectangular home with a central courtyard, which belonged to the Punnathur Raja. It is also a training school for Papans (Mahout). This complex also contains a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Bhagavathy.

The rituals of Gajapooja (Worshipping Elephants) and Anayoottu (Feeding Elephants) are observed here, as an offering to Lord Ganesha.

Location: Guruvayoor, Thrissur District, Kerala State, India.

African elephants are the elephants of the genus Loxodonta (Greek for 'oblique-sided tooth'), consisting of two extant species: the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Loxodonta is one of the two existing genera in the family Elephantidae. Although it is commonly believed that the genus was named by Georges Cuvier in 1825, Cuvier spelled it "Loxodonte". An anonymous author romanized the spelling to "Loxodonta", and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) recognizes this as the proper authority.

Fossil members of Loxodonta have only been found in Africa, where they developed in the middle Pliocene.

The African elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal. Its thickset body rests on stocky legs, and it has a concave back. Its large ears enable heat loss. Its upper lip and nose forms a trunk. The trunk acts as a fifth limb, a sound amplifier and an important method of touch. The African elephant's trunk ends in two opposing lips, whereas the Asian elephant trunk ends in a single lip. African bush elephants are bigger than Asian elephants. Males stand 3.2–4.0 m (10–13 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,360–13,330 lb), while females stand 2.2–2.6 m (7–9 ft) tall and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,762–7,125 lb).

The largest recorded individual stood four metres (13.1 ft) to the shoulders and weighed 10 tonnes (10 long tons; 11 short tons).

The Elephant Nature Park was created by a thai woman called Lek back in the 90’s after she grew tired of watching the elephants dissapearing.She started out with 4 elephants that she bought from local logging companies, and found a piece of land that the elephants could live on.Check out my travelblog at

www.175days.no

St. Louis Zoo

elephants feeding at the Toronto Zoo

The Elephant Nature Park was created by a thai woman called Lek back in the 90’s after she grew tired of watching the elephants dissapearing.She started out with 4 elephants that she bought from local logging companies, and found a piece of land that the elephants could live on.Check out my travelblog at

www.175days.no

I love the way she has her foot up on the bar. "Bartender, bring me a drink!"

Elephant, Botswana

Taken in Serengeti National Park in August 2015

After five years the young elephants are released into the jungle.

A picture from the river cruises down the Kinabatangan River, Borneo, Malaysia.

Kenya

Elephants in Thailand

elephant, elefant, kenia, Kenia, Elefant, Africa, Afrika

A day with the Elephants at Baan Chang Elephant Park in Chiangmai, Thailand

The Elephant Nature Park was created by a thai woman called Lek back in the 90’s after she grew tired of watching the elephants dissapearing.She started out with 4 elephants that she bought from local logging companies, and found a piece of land that the elephants could live on.

Check out my travelblog at www.175days.no

elephant, elefant, kenia, Kenia, Elefant, Africa, Afrika

Looking happy with lots of room to roam at San Antonio Zoo

Elephant Stampede. We were charged four times by an angry herd of Elephants. It was pretty damned exciting!!

The Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.

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A sanctuary for elephants affected by fighting in Sri Lanka. Take a close look and you will see many who have lost ears, a few missing eyes, and even one elephant who had stepped on a landmine and is now surviving with only three legs. It looks as if I got really close to the action, and I did, what is hidden are the two restaurants with four floors of viewing patios behind, but still an awesome afternoon.

I love this photo of this funny animal.

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Young elephants tussling at Chester zoo

Often called the Red Elephant In the Kenyan National Park of Tsavo East you will find red elephants aplenty.

The dusty soil of Tsavo is naturally of this colour and the elephants regularly partake of dust baths. The dust serves as an important anaesthetic to protect the elephant’s skin.

Elephant Nature Park