More about elephants - අලියා aliyā

There was/is so much to say about the elephants.  One more post seems needed.

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is across the street, and down a little road from the river where they bathe.  So twice per day, a group of elephants makes the short journey. We got to see them walk a few times.  Amazing!!

The shop keepers along the street move their sidewalk displays out of the way.  A few police officers make sure the tourists are tucked behind chains/gates. Then they come!!  In groups of about 12.  More silently than I ever imagined!  The bottom of the elephant's feet is like a leather moccasin. Quiet. And they move so gracefully!! In their big onesy-pyjama like skins.

A sign at the orphanage says the Asian  elephant's trunk... Has about 100,000 muscles.  Can be up to 2 meters long, weigh 140 kg, and hold 6-7 litres of water.  Is very sensitive, and has one finger at the end.  They use it to breathe. Like a snorkel, when they're under water. I saw the nostrils when I held Manika's trunk!!!!  They use it to drink and eat. I watched an elephant use the end of its trunk to tear grass, put it down, repeat that several times, then use its trunk to pick up the little pile of grass and bring it to its mouth.  Such patience!  To drink, they suck up water with their trunk and bring it to their mouth.  Baby elephants drink from their mom's directly with their mouth.

Pictures
1-A group of elephants walking down the street.  Google says they walk on the tip of their toes, and have toe nails instead of hooves.  The tips of their toes/bottom of their feet are covered with thick spongy skin that lets them walk quietly and adapt to uneven terrain. Cool!
2- This elephant kept sucking dust up with its trunk, and spraying it into its mouth. Google doesn't say why.  But it does say that elephants bob and sway their heads to distract themselves, when they're lacking social interaction.
2a - Manika using his trunk to breathe like a snorkel!
3-4 - It's a thing to make paper out of elephant poo. A quick tour of a little factory revealed that elephants poop lots of undigested fibre.  This is whats used to make the paper. Their poo really is about that big!!
4 - This (Asian) elephant is showing off its big ears. But African elephants have bigger ears.
5- A baby elephant skeleton.  So cute! An adults skull can be up to 6 inches thick in places.  But it's made like a honeycomb inside to reduce weight.
6- This is the real skeleton of Raja.  An elephant that was often used for parades in Kandy. Google says...Raja had the rare Maha Gaja Lakshana physical characteristics that put him in the aristocratic class i.e. he was a "hathpolaya", having seven parts of his body touching the ground when standing - his four legs, trunk, tail and extruded male organ.  Holy!!!