In a daily dose of viral videos from wildlife, an adorable video of elephants taking mud-bath has surfaced online. Taking mud-bath is quite pleasant for elephants. This, in fact, is a distinctive characteristic of elephants as the animals often play on mud and sand beds because mud acts as a protective layer on their sensitive skin.
This layer of mud and sand not only protects elephants from the heat but also relieves them from insect bites. After bathing in a river, elephants often indulge in a mud bath to form the protective layer on their skin. It also prevents sunburn.
Sudha Ramen of the Indian Forest Service shared the video on Twitter and explained the reason behind elephants enjoying their mud bath. In the clip, elephants rolled on the mud bed and smothered themselves with dust.
Sudha shared the video with the caption, "Holi time for elephants. Elephants love rolling in sand beds and spraying them over their body. Known as mud bath. They do it to rub their skin against insect bites and to protect from heat. Here, these elephants play at one of the rehabilitation units in Africa."
Watch Video:
Holi time for Elephants 😁
— Sudha Ramen IFS 🇮🇳 (@SudhaRamenIFS) May 13, 2020
Elephants love rolling in sand beds& spraying them over d body. Known as mud bath. They do it to rub their skin against insect bites &to protect from heat. Here these elephants play at one of d rehabilitation unit in Africa. Video via Sheldrick Wildlife pic.twitter.com/eWqSFHRyBU