Splashing Elephant ~ Mae Tang

Another shot from Mae Tang park of a mahout ordering the elephant to act crazy and splash all around to get the curious tourists wet and giggling.
I was particularly happy to have a long zoom lens allowing me to stay away from the water and not get my camera all wet.
Getting sprayed by a big geyser in Iceland was enough!

Note: My apologies for the lack of updates in the past few days. I am in the process of revamping my whole blog and website and got caught with a lot of work. I will try to keep posting once every 2 days until my website is up and running again. Stay tuned!

Elephant Love ~ Mae Tang

Is this how elephants kiss?

Seen in Mae Tang Elephant Park, these two elephants seemed playful!

Mae Tang Elephant Park ~ Chiang Mai

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit (for free!) an elephant park in Mae Tang, about an hour drive North of Chiang Mai.
I had never been to elephant parks yet in Thailand so I didn't really know what to expect. I had a great time with a few other photographers and we had free access to the whole program (plus a special baby elephant bathing show that tourists don't see).

We had been invited by the park to take photos which would later be used for fundraising to help the elephants' training. Many centers have been hit and had to close due to lack of tourists because of the last events in Bangkok.

PS: The elephant in the shot is not dead or hurt. Just lying on the ground to let the tourists ride it.

Hug a Tree!

Now, who wouldn't want to just grab that cute koala and squeeze it hard while being all mushy..?

I found this cuteness overdose in Chiang Mai's zoo, in Thailand, napping (duh!) with all its buddies.

Just so you know, here are some koala facts:

• Koalas are called "bears" but they are in fact marsupials.. like the kangaroo, or the wombat.
• The word koala is aboriginal for "no drink". Koala's get the water they need from the leaves they eat.
• Koalas don't have tails.
• Baby koalas, after being born, stay in their mother's pouch for 6 to 7 months drinking milk!
• Koalas are happy sleepers. They sleep about 18 to 20 hours per day and are active only after sunset.
• Koalas have few natural predators. They usually get killed by dogs or cars.
• The baby koala is called a joey.
• Koalas cry like a baby screaming when in danger. They also "bark" when aggressive.
• Eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to most animals, but koalas' digestive system is able to detoxify the leaves inside the stomach.
• Koalas are not "high" on eucalyptus. They sleep a lot to conserve energy due to their slow metabolic rate.

Yes, koalas are cute little animals, they are protected species though so don't get one as a pet...

Aaaaaaaawwwwwwwww so cuuuuuute! *drools*