Elephantasy

Posted on July 5, 2002 in Zoos

The elephant enclosure at the San Diego Wild Animal Park hurls its reeking tarp over your nose well before you see any elephants. The African enclosure stands to the left of the Wgaza Bush Line. It is set with fallen tree trunks and megalithic stones that almost make you believe that the beasts have material culture. The Indian elephants occupy the space to the right of the open car monorail. Their enclosure resembles a children’s playground with rounded logs and frameworks that look like monkey bars. The Indian elephants either do not mind or the guides simply don’t care about invasions of privacy. Visitors peer straight into the “bedrooms” which stand just off the railway. A crowd of Indian elephants habitually gathers near the amphitheater, where they remain on call for shows during the day. The Africans hide from the public view.

We only saw one of the former, trapped in a back pen along a side trail of the Kilamanjaro Safari Walk. A gigantic bull puttered around a foreshortened eucalyptus stump, marking the time by using the 700 muscles of his trunk to sway idly. He made me recall Emerson’s famous diary passage about the snakes gliding in the hollow: the loxodont wasn’t doing anything purposeful. Just rocking.

[Catching up on the week, especially Monday and Tuesday’s adventures at the San Diego zoological parks. The elephants in the above photo are the same elephant. Oh the wonders of technology never cease! To be continued!]