Elephant cools off with an underwater nap using trunk as snorkel
Watch as this adorable Asian elephant cools off with an underwater nap, using his trunk as a snorkel. Colonel, 29, weighs almost five tonnes and is one of seven Asian elephants at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas. In the video, Colonel can be seen beating the heat by taking a nap on the floor of his pool.
Whenever he needs to breathe, he just pops his trunk out. "Asian elephants love water," said Christine Del Turco, the zoo's elephant expert. "In the wild, there are elephants that swim from island to island in Sri Lanka and places like that, but Colonel is the only one who takes cat naps in the pool. "Ever since he got used to getting in and out of the pool he's very comfortable and he takes cat naps every day."He naps in a small splash pool for the elephants.
It's only 5 feet deep."Colonel wasn't always an avid swimmer though.
According to Christine, it took a bit of work to get him in the pool."It took me some coercion," she said.
"For four or five days, he'd just splash himself on the edge of the pool.
He wasn't sure where the bottom was. "I coaxed him in there with treats."Now, every time he sees me, he'll go running into the pool." Despite Christine's desire to spread her love evenly between the zoo's elephants, Colonel is definitely one of her favorites. "He's a really wonderful elephant to work with and he's really well-mannered," she said."He's just a very good boy.
He's like our thoroughbred. "He's our trimmest elephant.
He likes his exercise.
He likes to run around a lot.
Seeing him lay down is really nice." While the video was taken at an off-site facility, the Fort Worth Zoo is currently in the middle of a $100 million renovation plan."The new pool is going to be over half a million gallons of water," said Avery Elander, a spokesperson for the zoo. "They're going to have the ability to go on swims and there will be shallow banks for Colonel to nap in." The plan, called A Wilder Vision, is currently underway and will roll out in four phases, the second of which is called Elephant Springs. Elephant Springs is set to triple the size of the current elephant exhibit, giving Colonel and his herd plenty of room to rollick and play. The renovations - which will turn the Fort Worth Zoo into a veritable Club Med for elephants - are expected to be completed next spring. As of now, the Fort Worth Zoo is open to the public.
But, with quarantine restrictions, visitors must reserve a time online before hitting the exhibits.
Watch as this adorable Asian elephant cools off with an underwater nap, using his trunk as a snorkel.
Colonel, 29, weighs almost five tonnes and is one of seven Asian elephants at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.
In the video, Colonel can be seen beating the heat by taking a nap on the floor of his pool.
Whenever he needs to breathe, he just pops his trunk out.
"Asian elephants love water," said Christine Del Turco, the zoo's elephant expert.
"In the wild, there are elephants that swim from island to island in Sri Lanka and places like that, but Colonel is the only one who takes cat naps in the pool.
"Ever since he got used to getting in and out of the pool he's very comfortable and he takes cat naps every day."He naps in a small splash pool for the elephants.
It's only 5 feet deep."Colonel wasn't always an avid swimmer though.
According to Christine, it took a bit of work to get him in the pool."It took me some coercion," she said.
"For four or five days, he'd just splash himself on the edge of the pool.
He wasn't sure where the bottom was.
"I coaxed him in there with treats."Now, every time he sees me, he'll go running into the pool." Despite Christine's desire to spread her love evenly between the zoo's elephants, Colonel is definitely one of her favorites.
"He's a really wonderful elephant to work with and he's really well-mannered," she said."He's just a very good boy.
He's like our thoroughbred.
"He's our trimmest elephant.
He likes his exercise.
He likes to run around a lot.
Seeing him lay down is really nice." While the video was taken at an off-site facility, the Fort Worth Zoo is currently in the middle of a $100 million renovation plan."The new pool is going to be over half a million gallons of water," said Avery Elander, a spokesperson for the zoo.
"They're going to have the ability to go on swims and there will be shallow banks for Colonel to nap in." The plan, called A Wilder Vision, is currently underway and will roll out in four phases, the second of which is called Elephant Springs.
Elephant Springs is set to triple the size of the current elephant exhibit, giving Colonel and his herd plenty of room to rollick and play.
The renovations - which will turn the Fort Worth Zoo into a veritable Club Med for elephants - are expected to be completed next spring.
As of now, the Fort Worth Zoo is open to the public.
But, with quarantine restrictions, visitors must reserve a time online before hitting the exhibits.
