Snapping a shoot

Today, daughter J invited us to go to the Auckland Zoo. The main attraction was an interaction between the two Indian elephants in the zoo, and the staff looking after them. Quite educational. We were all invited to stay after the programmed bit, as they were "enriching" the environment for the elephants. 

What they had done was to create giant ice blocks, multicoloured in layers, in two rubbish bins. One was connected to the end of a chain dangling from a pole. Some "elastic rope" joining the chain in the ice block to the longer chain. The block was winched up in the air, to an appropriate height above the ground. The other was tucked away on the ground.

The younger of the two elephants very quickly learned that she could get the block of ice swinging by kicking it and once swinging she could direct it around the pole using her trunk, and within half a minute of starting that she had got the block to smash against the pole and break into two large bits.

The extra is of her gripping the bit remaining on the chain. A quick wrench immediately after this shot, and the ice block was in pieces on the ground. 

Meanwhile the older (now middleaged) elephant had been rolling the other block around, and caused some chips to come off. I had the impression, that staff wanted to see which was the better way to entertain the elephants; and the visitors secondarily.

I chose to blip a photo of a love bird in one of the aviaries.