When a baby elephant sees the sea for the first time!

[onehandle]

[Duer 157099]

1. That reminds me of MY first time at the beach!

we species are all alike, especially when we are young.

Adorable.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Aww! Little elephant is having so much fun!

It's always bothered me a bit that such an intelligent, interesting animal has become the symbol for the GOP..

[DainBramaged]

3. Wonderful

[grilled onions]

4. Very Symbolic

of why we should care for the animals on our planet and care for the waterways,rivers and oceans. When we destroy our planet we are also destroying their planet. All they want is to live and enjoy their life in safety and comfort just like humans.

[freshwest]

6. 'All they want is to live and enjoy their life in safety and comfort just like humans.' So true.

The joy of being alive and discovering is what we're here to do. It's apparent this young being is rejoicing. I could not help but think what its future may hold with things as they are.

[leftyohiolib]

5. this won play for me did u pull it off u-tube?

[midnight]

10. I had trouble the first time, and went to restart it and it worked..

[leftyohiolib]

14. thanks i meant to delete this cause i went to utube and found it there-very heart-warming

such a delight watching this "little" elephant splash around

[happyslug]

7. Reminds me of the story of shipping mules to Burma in WWII. Most hatred water, but some enjoyed it.

Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2013, 05:04 PM - Edit history (2)

The reason it reminds me is the story of Mules crossing rivers. If a mule, when a colt or filly, was taught to enter water, it would do so without thinking the rest of their lives. If the colt of filly had NOT been taught, they would refuse to cross, till one of them did, then all of them did.

This lead to all types of problems for most of the mules had NOT been taught as colts and fillies to enter rivers. When a river needed to be crossed it was an "adventure" till the mules crossed. One technique used was to find some of the few mules that had been exposed to rivers, to lead the other mules into the river.

Remember it cost the US Army $5000 dollars in 1944 dollars to transport these mules to Burma (Roughly $64,000 in 2013 dollars). A Sherman Tank only cost $35,000 in WWII dollars thus 7 mules costs as much as a Sherman Tank

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_cost_of_a_sherman_tank_in_World_War_2_dollars

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

One Mule, a Veteran of WWII Burma Campaign, made it to Korea to re-Join Us forces.

A ex-US Army Mule Captured from the Chinese Communists in Korea:
http://books.google.com/books?id=DPrdObObxrIC&pg=PT68&lpg=PT68&dq=US+Mule+Captured+korea&source=bl&ots=0l11_BGm3m&sig=r6LG-HQ5iXcabxCq4LBGtcGqqf0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mfu5UYvhC8W84APk-YCIBQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA

More on Mules in Burma and Korea:

http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/WWII/mules_of_mars.htm

http://cbi-theater-1.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-1/roundup/roundup080945.html

http://olive-drab.com/od_army-horses-mules_ww2.php

Shipping of Mules, during WWII (This was the main reason the US did NOT use as many horses as Germany or Russia during WWII, Shipping being the main problem. Due to the need to feed and clean them, Horses :
http://merchantships.tripod.com/fortcrevier2.html

The next time the US shipped mules, the perferred way was by jet. You loaded up the mule onto the cargo plane, fly it from Missouri (Where most of the mules were purchased) to Paksitan. Then unloaded the mules. This way you only had to clean and feed them once.

http://www.rockymountainrider.com/articles/1012_PFC_in_35th_QM_Mule_Pack.htm

Story of Sgt Reckless, it is a Story of a Horse, not a mule but she was used like a Mule:
http://eventingnation.com/home/video-break-equine-korean-war-hero.html

[KansDem]

8. Where's Hank Mancini when you need him?!!

Time for a new song, "Baby Elephant Swim."

(Henry Mancini, 1924-1994)

[ErikJ]

9. Next time he'll probably be surfing.

[benld74]

11. Were those in the surf head stands the baby was trying????

[Hekate]

12. Happy baby elephant brought his own snorkle and everything!

This is wonderful. Brought a much-needed smile to my face.

[Orrex]

13. Baby elephants never forget to wear their trunks at the beach.

[Doremus]

15. Brings a smile to my face. As long as I don't think about the backstory.

I don't know the specific details about this little guy, but he's young and would still be with his mother if they lived in the wild. His owner is likely treating him to a romp at the beach as a tool to help "break" him, which is what humans do to baby elephants to make them do their bidding. The process involves removing the baby from its mother, immobilizing it and beating it into submission. Lather, rinse, repeat. Until the animal forgets everything except its fear of the club. Small rewards such as a trip to the beach would provide positive reinforcement of human=good.

[Historic NY]

16. Absolutely thrill with his discovery......

[mrdmk]

17. Welllllllll, I just hope they (including the elephant) were at a state sanctioned dog beach!

http://www.petfriendlytravel.com/dog_beaches

[Egalitarian Thug]

18. K&R This made today's DU time worthwhile. Thank you. n/t