Elephants are highly sociable animals, and the remarkable way they look after their own kind has always evoked a sense of wonder.

The tip of an elephant's trunk is an extremely sensitive organ. The trunk, an extension of the nose and upper lip, is manipulated by about 50 000 muscles and is the elephant's most important single organ for the purpose of day to day survival. With its trunk it feeds and drinks (daily intake is up to 200kg of vegetation and 200 liters of water), dusts itself, trumpets, touches and smells things - and uses it as a shower. The water holding capacity of the trunk is 17 liters.

The low ratio between an elephant's body surface area and body mass means that it has no difficulty in keeping warm - but, by the same token, it may have trouble keeping cool. Where water is available, they wallow, bathe and spray themselves.

An elephant's great ears are not only acute sensory organs; they also act as fans. As the temperature increases, the ears are flapped more frequently. This directs air currents over the body and also exposes the inner side of the ear, where large veins pass close to the surface which keeps the body temperature down. Our elephants have developed strong bonds with their handlers. During the walks the handlers act as informative guides providing facts about the elephants and information on this unique area.