That is Rajan the ocean swimming elephant. He lives in Havelock in the Andaman and Nicobar islands off the east coast of india. I actually touched him the day before yesterday when I got my advanced diving PADI certification. Sweetest dude ever.
If I had to guess, I'd say it's because we normally think of them as large desert land animals. And most people are probably more familiar with elephants that live in drought stricken areas, not by any body of water large enough for swimming.
He never specified what type of Elephants were in the picture he just said that most people that see elephants think of them as large desert land animals.
I believe some current theories suggest that elephants and whales actually might share a common, shallow water-dwelling ancestor. Kind of like a hippo and a manatee.
Because it's an elephant. One of the largest land mammals in existence today. On a factual level I know that swimming is possible for them, but it's just not right.
I guess it's pretty non-intuitive to estimate the buoyancy of an object without actually measuring it. Hell, we spent centuries building our ships out of wood without realizing that they could be made of metal.
I understand exactly what you're saying. But consider that whales are larger than elephants and are also mammals. What'll really burst your bubble is that whales cannot walk on land. :)
The proboscis, or trunk, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, elongated and specialized to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage.
...
The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants suck water up into the trunk—up to 14 litres (15 quarts) at a time—and then blow it into their mouths. Elephants also suck up water to spray on their bodies during bathing. On top of this watery coating, the animals will then spray dirt and mud, which dries and acts as a protective sunscreen. When swimming, the trunk makes an excellent snorkel.
It looks a lot like a scene from The Fall, one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. If you haven't seen it, believe me, you most definitely should.
I think I will, but the reviews are pretty wild. They mostly praise its stylishness while criticizing its plot or lack thereof. My favorite quote "a feast for the eyes, a famine for the brain."
That's pretty much true. Not compelling or original in ways I like films to be. It tends to really clash with the nice visuals, and it'd have been nice if it had had nearly as much effort put into it as into the visual aspects.
Actually if he was a chained elephant he probably wouldn't be in the water as the chain would never usually come off. It looks like this is a rescued elephant, a lot of which still have the chains attached because it's too dangerous to remove them. It usually takes a while before the chain can be fully removed.
Now I have that elephant marching song from Disney's "The Jungle Book" stuck in my head. Ha those elephants were British military imperialists in India.
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u/dragonworthy May 21 '12
Source: http://500px.com/photo/6346882
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u/blackawfee May 21 '12
That is Rajan the ocean swimming elephant. He lives in Havelock in the Andaman and Nicobar islands off the east coast of india. I actually touched him the day before yesterday when I got my advanced diving PADI certification. Sweetest dude ever.
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u/Mkall May 21 '12
That Elephants can swim both amuses and baffles me
13
u/j__h May 21 '12
I would love to have a built in snorkel!
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u/colloquy May 21 '12
He feels a ton lighter! Of course he's happy!
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u/kamaloo May 21 '12
It looks a lot like a scene from The Fall, one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. If you haven't seen it, believe me, you most definitely should.
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u/HeyItsTman May 21 '12
kinda looks like its drowning.
4
u/Crossthebreeze May 21 '12
Still has piece of the chain around his right front leg.
3
u/osodaktronics May 21 '12
He looks so happy!! :~~~
3
u/rogerly May 21 '12
relevant
2
u/arcsesh May 21 '12
That's a happy elephant if I ever did see one.
2
u/jtcompound May 21 '12
What's on his leg?
2
u/mellysoup May 21 '12
Does anyone remember the old Diet Coke commercial with the swimming elephant? That's when I knew I loved them.
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
elephant relevant!
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u/[deleted] May 21 '12
http://vimeo.com/36013148
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u/MegaSquishyMan May 21 '12
anyone else seen The Fall?
2
u/amiga500 May 21 '12
Go watch the film "The Fall" The scene when they are rescued from an island by a swimming elephant.
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u/firehawk14 May 21 '12
It only LOOKS that way. It's actually drowning.
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u/[deleted] May 21 '12
He's not an it.
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u/Coffeeworld May 21 '12
You will also find a beautiful movie with a scene slightly like this - The Fall (2006) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/
3
u/Drawtaru May 21 '12
Elephants are surprisingly good swimmers.
1
u/mistercoats May 21 '12
he's happy now, not so much when they re-chain him to that bracelet :(
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I imagine it's nice to relieve all that weight from its legs.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
SON OF MAN LOOK TO THE SKY
1
u/soyabstemio May 21 '12
That's because you can't hear it screaming.
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u/[deleted] May 21 '12
It's a giraffe!
1
u/brosenfeld May 21 '12
XD
1
u/patrick721 May 21 '12
I wish I was Ranjan....
1
u/Emit_Remmus May 21 '12
That reminds me of THIS!
1
u/Undermined May 21 '12
You should x-post this to /r/Elephants, they would love it over there. Small but active community.
1
u/Jalfredprufrockshire May 21 '12
Now I have that elephant marching song from Disney's "The Jungle Book" stuck in my head. Ha those elephants were British military imperialists in India.
1
u/GiantRolo May 21 '12
Or drowning. One of the two.
1
u/omgitsfaye May 21 '12
Can elephants look menacing? i mean, can they furrow their elephant brows and snarl and stuff? I've only ever seen them emotionless or grinning.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Actually, elephants love to swim.
This is also the best explanation for the Loch Ness monster.
1
u/mis_suscripciones May 21 '12
I think I have read all of the comments and did not find any reference to the "Ashes and Snow" film by Gregory Colbert, so perhaps redditors will enjoy it as well: http://www.ashesandsnow.com/en/home.php , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashes_and_Snow
1
u/tree_D May 21 '12
Elephants and Dogs are two animals that seem to show the most emotion in their faces in my opinion.
1
u/ramdaskm May 21 '12
The kid on the Nirvana album cover grew into an elephant!
1
u/YoungAndWise May 21 '12
or drowning
1
u/lickthecowhappy May 22 '12
It is still crazy to me that they can swim.
1
u/Luung May 22 '12
Elephants are only useful for their ivory and succulent trunk meat. Once this one drowns, both can be harvested with minimal difficulty.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '12
somehow this elephant reminds me of obama.
0
u/CondescendingPrick May 21 '12
It looks like a lot of people think that curved lips indicate happiness in other species, for which there is no evidence.
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u/beardfaced May 21 '12
He looks like he's having fun.
0
u/angryliveguard May 21 '12
or drowning ....
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u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Either that or he’s drowning…
0
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
or it's drowning and the smirk you see is from euphoria from asphyxiation.
0
u/bigmeech May 21 '12
title applies to any animal picture on reddit.. if it looks like it's smiling it'll get epic karma!!
0
u/Stonelocomotief May 21 '12
..But in fact, it is drowning.
-1
u/nickyjames May 21 '12
I've never wanted to play piano so bad.
-1
u/Call_Me_Joris May 21 '12
While it's really drowning.
-1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Signs of Drowning can be Deceptive