A regal procession in Rajasthan, India
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

The Elegance of Elephants<\/h2>\n

I have been thinking a lot about elephants lately. (That\u2019s not often an opening line for a story about travel adventures, is it?)<\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019ve been thinking about elephants for a long time\u2014ever since Dumbo mustered the courage to fly, ever since Manfred the wooly mammoth survived the Ice Age, and ever since Horton heard his Who.<\/p>\n

Elephants (and elephant characters) have enriched our lives for many years. They are evolved creatures worth studying and worth getting to know in an \u201cup close and personal\u201d way.<\/p>\n

We can learn much from our elephant friends, especially where human\/elephant contact is offered in a safe and healthy way for the elephants.<\/p>\n

Elephants in Amboseli National Park in Kenya
\u00a9 Tatiana Morozova\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Elephants in the News<\/h4>\n

Recent news events have again brought elephants into the headlines.<\/p>\n

Last year, Ringling Brothers vowed to phase out their elephant acts due to animal rights issues. Then, this year, they announced the ultimate closing of the circus because of declining audience numbers due, in part, they said, to the removal of the elephant acts and to general concern for the treatment of the animals.<\/p>\n

Elephant captivity can be brutally cruel.
\u00a9 Tuomas Lehtinen\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Also in the headlines of the moment is the danger to elephants from the ivory trade. China pledged to ban all domestic ivory trade by this end of this year, joining many nations in the environmental pledge to protect elephants from ivory poachers.<\/p>\n

The ivory trade is still a real threat to elephants in the wild.
\u00a9 Stockbyte<\/p><\/div>\n

These are solid steps toward protecting the threatened elephant population and treating elephants with the respect they deserve.<\/p>\n

Elephant Enlightenment<\/h4>\n

My meetings with elephants over the past six months spanned the globe and the gamut of elephant life.<\/p>\n

The elephant taxi stand at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

The first elephants to cross my recent path were in Jaipur, India. Almost every tourist visiting the Amber Fort (called Amer Fort locally) travels the steep path to the fort on a festively decorated elephant.<\/p>\n

The four-legged, trunk-waving taxis plod slowly and purposefully up the hill, defining perfectly the meaning of the word \u201clumber.\u201d<\/p>\n

Understanding the true meaning of “lumbering” as elephants climb the ancient path to the palace
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

This transportation is how the visitors of the 16^{th<\/sup> and 17th<\/sup> centuries most likely arrived at the palace. Now, it is the ultimate tourist experience. However, the treatment of these \u201cdomesticated\u201d elephants is controversial . . . and worthy of scrutiny.<\/p>\n}

Oh, I see.<\/strong> Sometimes our \u201cbucket-list\u201d travel adventures need a deeper look at behind-the-scenes realities.<\/p>\n

The marketing material claims each elephant makes only 5 trips a day\u2014all in the morning\u2014and takes only two people on the Howdah (the carriage on the elephant\u2019s back).<\/p>\n

The working conditions were different in the past, as the elephants worked all day in the scorching heat and carried many more people.<\/p>\n

Resting . . . or hiding out? Either way, a well-deserved respite.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

Although the conditions have improved over time, it still seems that the elephants are under stress.<\/p>\n

Animal welfare advocates allege that these elephants often do not get adequate food and water, the uneven pavement on the road to the fort damages their feet, and their off-duty housing is often less than desirable and is certainly a far cry from jungle life.<\/p>\n

Even to be prepared for their jobs transporting humans, they are made to be submissive via often brutal techniques called \u201ccrushing.\u201d Their spirits are broken. And no one lives well with a broken spirit.<\/p>\n

Showing off some new trunk painting at the sanctuary
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

Seeking Sanctuary<\/h4>\n

A better way to interact with elephants is to visit some of the elephant villages or sanctuaries. I visited one of these in Jaipur, called Eleday.<\/p>\n

At this particular sanctuary, you can get to know your elephant, feed her, wash her, and apply some decorative designs to her body, akin to temporary tattoos or inventive face painting.<\/p>\n

Perhaps she feels as if it\u2019s a day of pampering at the skin and nail salon (although it\u2019s hard to tell how the elephants really feel about being painted).<\/p>\n

Eleday visitor Lauren Gezurian and her elephant-for-a-day are bonding well
with some trunk painting.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

What we do know is that the elephant\u2019s skin is very sensitive, even though it\u2019s at least an inch thick. She definitely knows she is being touched.<\/p>\n

An elephant can eat up to 500 pounds of food a day.
The few bananas we fed them were vacuumed up in a flash.
\u00a9 Anne Hobbs<\/p><\/div>\n

The Relephant Facts<\/h4>\n

In these more ecologically oriented sanctuaries, I learned some interesting facts about the species. Here are ten of my favorite.<\/p>\n

\n
1. There are three surviving elephant species, all either threatened or endangered: the Asian elephant, the African savanna elephant, and the African forest elephant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
   

   Asian elephants gather at a watering hole in Pinnewala, Sri Lanka.
   \u00a9 Nyira Gongo\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

   \n
   1. How do you tell the difference between Asian and African elephants? African savanna elephants have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa. African forest elephants have large oval ears. Asian elephants have smaller ears. Asian elephants have rounded backs and relatively smooth skin, while African elephants have a sway back and very wrinkled skin.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
      1. Elephants have more than 40,000 muscles in their trunks, making these massive noses very strong, sensitive, and flexible. It is said that an elephant can smell water from up to 12 miles away.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
         \n
         1. The strength of their trunks comes in handy to forage for food and to lift things up to around 750 pounds. Here, a mother lifts her baby, who was stuck in the mud.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n