Observations on Elephants

So I am learning a lot about elephants: how to care for them, about their habits, how to run a wildlife sanctuary. I've been making daily rounds with the vet and he has been very informative. I've also learned a lot from the mahouts, and even from other volunteers (one of them is a zoologist in the UK). Here are a few things I've witnessed which I thought I'd share:

-I watched an elephant 'in must' go crazy yesterday. He did a headstand with this back legs off the ground! I moved out of the way just in time as he threw a log halfway down the shed.
There is not enough room at the orphanage to make seperate enclosures for the musting elephants...they have to be chained up for the entire period of their must, which can last 2 or 3 months! The vet said that getting more land is one of his priorities, but it is expensive so chaining the elephants is they best than can do for now.

-An elephant bellow is quite a terrifying noise. It sounds almost like a dinosaur!

-I have been grabbed by more elephant trunks than I can count. Sometimes they just reach out and grab you when you are walking by!

-I witnessed a hillarious scene as an elephant recieved bananas from the doctor yesterday. He refused to grab the bunch with his trunk, but rather stood with his mouth wide open as the doctor tried (and failed several times) to toss the bananas into his mouth!

-I watched the vet cut into an abscess on the ear of one of the tuskers, Sampath. It was really gross, but really interesting, too! It is amazing how the mahouts can control the elephants. Sampath just laid on the ground quietly, but you could see him wincing in pain.

-Today as I was walking to the orphanage I heard a familiar noise behind me. It was a jingle of sorts, and I wasnt quite sure what it was but my first thought was: it is an elephant walking with chains on! Crazy, right? Well, it WAS an elephant walking with chains on. I watched him emerge from the bushes across the street. I find it strange that I recognized the sound of an elephant's walk. Who knew something like that would ever become normal to me!

-And have I mentioned that I learned how to ride an elephant. Not just on one of those benches, like they have at the circus. No, I learned how to ride on sitting right on the head, like a real mahout! I have pictures, so no worries.