Rescued Orphan Elephants Learn the Art of Mud Bathing – and It’s the Sweetest Thing Ever (VIDEO)

What could be better on a hot morning than a good old mud bath? If you are an elephant, that is. On one recent scorching day, the little elephants at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary were treated to a luxurious mud bath, complete with a dusting to cool off. The growing elephants are now busier than ever exploring the world around them and learning skills necessary to navigate the wild – and the mud bath was definitely one of their favorite new experiences.

Mud baths are not only a great way to cool down for elephants – they are also really fun! And as a benefit of this fun, the ellies get covered in mud that protects their skin from the sun rays, acting as a natural sunscreen. There is nothing but positive results for playing around in some sludge, it turns out.

Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Africa’s first community-owned and managed elephant sanctuary, currently has twelve baby elephant residents who are under the careful watch of their dedicated team of keepers. There were many reasons why these calves have ended up in a sanctuary –some lost their mothers to poachers, others were stranded in drought, orphaned as a result of human-elephant conflict, and some lost their parents to natural causes. Reteti’s goal is to rescue and rehabilitate the orphaned calves, so that they can be in the end returned to the wild and join the herds of northern Kenya.

To learn more about Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and its residents, click here.