Meet Tricia, Permai and Putra Mas, the gentle giants of Perth Zoo! I was lucky to run into one of their keepers to have a small chat about their elephants. Putra Mas is the bull of the Zoo and like all male elephants he is kept seperate from the females Tricia and Permai. He is managed using protected contact. With their females they are using free contact. Tricia is one special lady, she is the matriarch in Perth Zoo since 1963. Being almost 62 she is one of the oldest Asian Elephants in captivity in Australia. We saw her getting a special deep tissue massage and doing some painting together with Permai. I had never seen anything like this and it felt totally strange but the elephants seemed to enjoy it. The proceeds of their paintings go to conservation projects that the Zoo supports, protecting wild elephants in the Bukit Tigapuluh region of Sumatra. Once a day the keepers have a walk around the Zoo with the elephants. Unfortunately we didn't see this but it was a pleasure to meet Perth's gentle giants anyway! I hope to get a trunk hug one day! 🐘
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