Mysore/Mysuru: In a bid to create a natural habitat-like surrounding for elephants, Mysuru Zoo has constructed a huge swimming pool at its Chamundi Animal Conservation, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Koorgalli on the outskirts of the city.  A video of four elephants swimming in the pool has gone viral on the social media and Zoo of Karnataka has also shared a short clip of the video on its Twitter page, which has received widespread appreciation.

Human beings are not the only ones who need water to beat the heat, elephants too love to soak themselves in cool water, when temperature starts to soar. Also, it is common for elephants to experience pain in their joints and body when they cross 60 years of age and this water body will be very helpful for them to ease the pain.

In the water, the elephants enjoy cooling down while “wrestling” with their friends and members of their herd. An elephant’s ears also work to cool their bodies down in the heat.

Also, water is an important part of daily life for elephants. In the wild, elephants take regular dips in rivers and other water bodies and are capable of swimming long distances. Experts say that regular “splash sessions” are also important for hygiene and skin care of elephants. 

The huge water body at Koorgalli Rehab Centre has been constructed where a small pond existed earlier and five elephants can take a dip in the pool at once, sources at Mysuru Zoo said. 

Meanwhile, Mysuru Zoo Executive Director Ajit M. Kulkarni, speaking to Star of Mysore this morning said that the swimming pool has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 25 lakh as the small pond which earlier stood in the place of the new swimming pool used to get dry in summer and added that water from the borewell is being used to fill the swimming pool. 

The swimming pool was constructed to keep the elephants healthy and the pool will also act as a natural habitat for them, he said. A sum of Rs. 10 lakh has also been spent for the construction of a post-mortem room at the rehabilitation centre, which has a post-mortem table and other equipment, he said.

Though a gigantic swimming pool has been constructed for elephants at Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj, Pune district of Maharashtra State much earlier, this is for the first time that a swimming pool has been constructed by a Zoo for elephants in Karnataka.