Elephant baths at the Kodanad Rescue Park in Kerala, India

The Kodanad Rescue Park is a facility run by the Indian government to rescue and raise baby elephants in the Kerala district, near Kochi. Each morning the elephants at the facility are walked down to the river where the mahouts - handlers - scrub them down with coconut husks and rinse them clean. The show is free, though you have to get up early to make it if you're staying in Kochi; naturally, the mahouts expect a tip for their work.

The elephants are amazing to watch, particularly the way they use their trunks to do just about anything they want while otherwise being handled during the bath time. The idea of being able to pick up a snack while walking down the street, something these elephants can do quite easily, has me rather jealous.

Read more about my visit to the Kodanad Rescue Park here: http://wandr.me/uYKOcO.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• National Park
• Rescue
• park
• elephant
• river
• kerala
• kochi
• cochin
• Tamil
• Malayalam
• kodanad
• Animals
• Animal
• rescue
• elephants
• trunk