While romping around in mud might be a human mother’s playtime nightmare, elephants use the messy mud to cool them down, and protect their bodies from the sun’s rays.
Even though this was the first time Nandita, the one-week-old Asian elephant calf, got to experience a mud bath, she wasted no time getting down and dirty.
“All of the family really look out for her, and mum Thi in particular is never far away – always there to lend a helping trunk should Nandita need a bit of mud wiping away from her eyes and ears,” Andy Mckenzie, Chester Zoo’s team manager of elephants, said.
This one week old elephant calf named Nandita enjoys a messy mud bath at Chester Zoo.
The zoo hopes that the recent arrival of Nandita can help raise more awareness of the species which, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), faces a very high risk of extinction.
The newborn was joined by five of her relatives, who spent about a half hour slipping and sliding around in the mud.
When play time was over, mom wiped Nandita’s eyes and ears clear from caked on mud with her trunk.
Take a look at the video below to see this cute baby elephant have some fun in the mud:
How cute was this one-week-old’s first time playing in mud? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
[Featured image credit: ODN]