Lunch with the Elephants

Yesterday Jenna and I packed up the car, ran some errands, then took a special trip through the drive-thru at McDonalds.  We drove to Power and Light in KC, then parked, unloaded, and then walked until we found a crowd.  We were there to have lunch with the Ringling Bros circus elephants!!!

We unfolded a blanket, sat,  and then opened our lunch.

 

The fun began shortly after we started eating.  We saw five large tables, each filled to the brim with food (bananas, apples, carrots, corn, and bread).

  Then, the clowns came out. There were two clowns. One was a huge man, with huge muscles and huge feet.  The other was a goofy, simpleton. 

 

They were a great pair and the kids loved them – especially this one!

Then…

 

The ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!!!!

 

We watched the elephants eat, and eat, and eat. They were quick and messy and majestic! One of the circus workers answered questions from the crowd.  She told us that elephants in captivity can live to be 60, 70, or even 80 years old.  Their favorite food is bread.  One of the elephants, Asia, (one of the ones on the end in the picture above) paints a picture before every show.  They youngest member of their program was born in April…and is named April! She’s not old enough yet to join the show, but she’s already being trained (on a side note, PETA also informed us that they use some fairly cruel methods to train their baby elephants, which made me sad, but they were kind enough to hold off their protest until after the show, so I didn’t have to wrestle with any moral issues and could focus on watching the joy on my baby’s face).

Speaking of joy on my baby’s face, I’m afraid she might be turning into a clown!

  

The elephants ate most of their food, then they each got a whole watermelon for dessert. They stomped them in half, then ate them. It was quite a treat for them and a treat for us to watch!

Now for the not so fun part.  The elephants didn’t smell all that great and they made a HUGE mess while they ate.