Please consider breath mints

Few of us on a relaxing tropical vacation expect to be confronted by the leftover lunch, fat and shiny tongue, and ultra-hairy underlip of a towering pachyderm. While standing under this truly enormous animal, it was hard not to imagine that this gaping maw could be my last earthly sight. Luckily, this elephant was a friendly sort, perhaps because I was feeding her carrots. Elephants at the Taman Safari near Jakarta, Indonesia, are trained to accept food placed directly into their mouths, rather than picking it up with their trunks, for the entertainment and momentary shock of tourists.


As an elephant enthusiast and regular reader of elephant news, I had despaired of ever seeing these majestic creatures featured on this blog. It just goes to show that beauty is very hard to maintain from all angles.

Bonus: an aggressive zebra in the drive-through part of the safari demands carrots as well.