In anticipation of our African safari we decided to take a road trip to Two Tails Ranch in Williston, Florida. They have Asian elephants there that look completely different from the African elephants we are used to seeing. Asian elephants have short ears and are much smaller than their African counterparts. Some of the elephants had orange splotches with black polka dots. Fascinating information on elephants in general but the saddest is that when the Asian elephants in existence die there will be no more. There are no elephants left of breeding age. Asian and African elephants cannot be interbred. Some of the elephants on the ranch have been there between 30 and 40 years. In captivity an elephant can live to be 70.

While we were there we participated in feeding elephants carrots. They weren’t like horses were you had to be careful of your fingers. The elephants just slurped up the carrots. Our hands were definitely sticky and slimy afterwards. Jude asked the question that everyone wants to know the answer. Are zebras black with white stripes or are they white with black stripes? Answer is neither! They are just black and white.

This adventure has gotten us so excited for what is to come. We have a friend, Deb Gately, who is currently on this trip and she has been sending us pictures. In the first day she saw the Big 5. (For the uninformed that is the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo).

An interesting thing about the above picture: it was painted by one of the elephants. The owner put paint on a brush and the elephant walked to the easel and did his thing. When he was done he stepped away and gave the brush back to the owner. She gave him another brush with another color and the process continued. The paintings are sold in the gift shop.