Lisa Browder

The whole idea of encouraging Florida’s single seniors to get out and do things is not only to keep moving and keep interested in the world around you, but to discover all the wonderful things Florida has to offer. Can you go wrong spending time with elephants? I don’t think so. But then again, I’m an elephant lover.

Myakka Elephant Ranch has a great group experience with their two Asian elephants, Carol and Patty, both 50 years old. They also have a smaller, exclusive “spa” experience where you get to bathe them, but that one is booked pretty far out and costs $89. This group experience was $39 and had more dates available.

The differences between African and Asian elephants are numerous. Asians are not as large, have smaller ears shaped like India, and straighter backbones. They have smoother skin because they come from a cooler climate that also offers more tree coverage. The skin is sensitive enough that they can feel a mosquito bite. Don’t you wish we knew how this was determined?

Our host explained that elephants don’t sweat and they flap their ears to cool things down. Those ears also act as sonar, picking up high-pitched sounds humans can’t hear.

Elephants produce rumbles that can be felt through the ground miles and miles away, and a sort of squeal when they are frightened or need to alert other elephants of potential danger.

The trunk acts as their nose and their hands. It has 100,000 muscles in it and is exceedingly flexible. They can heft 300-700 pounds but they can also do delicate things like pick up a dime. They drink about 50 gallons of water a day by pulling up 1-2 gallons in the trunk and transferring it to the mouth.

Their primary food is hay. It is supplemented with a special-made meal. They eat about 50 pounds of grain a day. Fruits and vegetables are considered treats. According to our host, there’s too much sugar in the fruits and vegetables for their weight.

I’m feeling a kinship. Perhaps I should be eating hay.

And all those stories you’ve heard about elephants having great memories? The host assured us it’s true. He said their brains are about 3 times larger than ours. If they meet someone they particularly like, they can pick that person out of a crowd a year later.

This experience was great and I recommend it. Spend time with these majestic animals before they disappear. In 1930, there were 10 million elephants in the world. Today, that number has dwindled to around 400,000 because of poaching and loss of habitat.

I love the photo of Carol checking me out up close and personal. Decades ago, I worked in a show in Sun City, Bophuthatswana, Africa and we had a beautiful little elephant named Tanya with her own act. Right before the finale, we had to make an outrageously fast costume change. We had silver top hats preset in specific spots backstage. Mine happened to be at the far end of a set near where Yenda, Tanya’s handler, would have her waiting to go on for the finale. It wasn’t unusual to race up to my spot, find my top hat missing and turn to find Tanya waving it around in the air.

And if my hat was still stationed where it was supposed to be, I would still merit Tanya’s attention. I would frequently feel her trunk drifting around the back of my head while I changed costumes.

I apologize for the quality of these next two photos. I’m clearly no professional and it never works very well to photograph a photo. Both are from the program of the South Africa show, Bedazzled. That’s Tanya on the left. Then I wanted you to see those irresistible silver top hats. That’s me toward the center, fourth in starting from the right. My, my how things have changed!

• 4550 Verna Bethany Rd. - although the website lists Verna Bethany as the address, the confirmation email says 4550 Elephant Dr. My GPS didn’t recognize Elephant Dr. and the street sign when I got there said Verna Bethany so that’s the address I’m giving you.
• http://www.myakkaelephantranch.org
• 941-702-0220
• Wheelchair accessible