Day 5 - Elephant Park - Banana Balls and Elephant Walk

Today when we reported for duty we were given a new job - making banana balls!!

(L -We receive our instructions)

(R - The start - peel the over ripe bananas)

Some of the older elephants, or some without teeth (elephants have 4 VERY large teeth) have difficulty with eating the regular food, so here we make up banana balls for easier digestion.

(L & R - we peel and mash!!)








(L - When you have peeled all the bananas, you then mash even more, until it is quite smooth - I figured that a large blender would have been an asset!!)

(R - When the mixture is quite smooth, seeds and other dry ingredients are added)



(L - It is quite a feeling, mashing away at the bananas. It slows however as the dry ingredients are added)

(R - When the mixture becomes dry enough, it is rolled into large balls






(L - In the afternoon we were taken on another "elephant walk" around the park. We go with one of the guides who carries a large bunch of green bananas. Here the mahouts drag down a cart full of elephant grass for their charges to nibble through the night)


(L - In another part of the Park they have set up a school to train elephants in certain things. The training is done on the reward system, with snacks for the correct actions. Most of the training is directed to actions that may be necessary for the care of the elephant - like a sore leg, or some other part when it may become necessary for the Vet to touch the elephant. In this way they are comfortable with being touched)

(R - we passed by the "Clinic" and stopped to give some bananas to a sick elephant - it has a foot problem on one of its back legs - it is actually quite interesting in that whilst there are two sick elephants there are actually three elephants in the clinic. The extra one is a "friend" who stays with one of the sick ones)


(L - Further down in the Park we came up with two more elephants who were quite happy to diminish our load of bananas.

(R - They have quite a sense of smell, and you can touch them, but if you have no bananas they are not that interested in you)

(L - We got on quite well)


(R - All of us clustered around and the elephant is quite happy - even more so if we have a banana to fold into the trunk)