Making a splash, the 60-year-old elephant going for his morning swim

Daily Mail ^ | 23rd May 2010

[nickcarraway]

Gliding gracefully beneath the crystal-clear waters this Asian bull elephant cuts a mystical figure.

Weighing 3.5 tons and standing at just under four metres, meet Rajan one of the last surviving elephants who helped with logging on the Andaman and Nicobar Island chain near the end of the Bay of Bengal.

Photographed by Cesare Naldi, these amazing images show the unique bond between 60-year-old Rajan and 58-year-old mahout (elephant driver), Nasru.

In one spectacular image Nasru is seen balancing on the animals tusks as the elephant took a breather on his morning swim.

This particular image and resulting series was enough to win Cesare first prize in National Geographic's International Photography contest in December of last year.

Renowned for his ability to swim, Rajan and Nasru have become something of a fixture at their home on Havelock Island, which is in the Indian Ocean. "I took the pictures during the early morning around 8am as Rajan crossed the short distance between beaches on Havelock Island," said U.S.-based Cesare.

"I had approached Nasru and Rajan's owners at the Barefoot resort on Havelock to see if they would let me spend time alone with Rajan, as he usually swims with groups of eight or so paying customers.

"I wanted to capture the intimacy of the relationship between Nasru and Rajan." Setting off from Radha Nagar beach, Cesare was around 300ft out in around 15ft of water when he observed the graceful swimming that Rajan has become known for.

'When Rajan stepped into the clear blue sea I was already into the water, with my scuba diving equipment,' said Cesare.

"He stayed for some time with his legs into the water, then he started to walk away from the shore. "At some point when his feet lost contact with the sand he started

[nickcarraway]

Weighing 3.5 tons and standing at just under four metres, 60-year-old Rajan dives with his 58-year-old mahout (elephant driver), Nasru

Renowned for his ability to swim, Rajan and Nasru have become something of a fixture at their home on Havelock Island, which is in the Indian Ocean

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/23/article-0-09B6D542000005DC-42_634x418.jpg

"I was really surprised by the speed of his legs and how he could actually swim,' said the photographer who took the images

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1280638/Making-splash-60-year-old-elephant-going-morning-swim.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0p57ctqRy

[advertising guy]

water displacement

[opentalk]

great pictures, thanks for posting.

[nickcarraway]

No problem. They are great.

[Sunshine Sister]

Wonderful pictures. My thanks also for posting!

[Fast Moving Angel]

Hey, fat floats.

[mamelukesabre]

built in snorkel.

[JRios1968]

Hey, fat floats.

[Fast Moving Angel]

LOL! So are you saying he’d never drown?

[Boiling point]

Yup, that’s definitely a floater.

[Gapplega]

that’s a lot of piano keys!

[SunkenCiv]

Nice!

[nickcarraway]

Nicer than a rhino.

[SunkenCiv]

I wonder if rhinos (who don’t see all that well) enjoy swimming?