Painted Pachyderms

(1/12/2004)

In the period leading up to the holiday season, Nigel and Yani Mason, owners of the Bali Elephant Safari Park in Taro, played host at the park to over 100 children from the Dana Punia Orphanage in Singaraja, North Bali.

The day, filled with food and drink and a special "elephant show" for the kids was made especially memorable when the children were put to work painting a large bull elephant.

An artist form New York who specializes in elephant painting was on hand to supervise the children in the application of special paints. A most cooperative and willing model, the bull elephant stood still while he was given a 5-point star on his forehead; his eyes were lined; his tusks accessorized with colored rings; and a ceremonial carpet was painted on his back and sides.

Painting an elephant is messy work and it's understandable if some of the kids ended up wearing only slightly less paint than the elephant. Fortunately, the paint is water-soluble, a fact the elephant proved when it soon took a bath in the Park's pool and the children discovered later during a "scrub up" back home at the orphanage.