RE: Volunteer page

Rainy days create the perfect opportunity for an elephant to swim, as the water in the dam actually feels warmer than the temperature of the air.  I was following Keisha that day and as always, she never fails to disappoint. The funny thing with Keisha is nobody really expects her to be the silly one... she is sweet and she looks after Thato.. she is many things, but she is also a 6 years old who sometimes just feels the need to play. I have seen her before, down at the dam, swishing water through her toes and flapping her trunk through the water to make waves etc, so when I saw her start again this day, I thought it would be more of the same, which is a joy to watch in and of itself. But no, she suddenly started wading into the water and then walking through before she took her first plunge. We watched her for 33 minutes, while she played. At one point I thought she was going to drown, as she was completely submerged, until her little trunk poked above the water.. at another time I thought she was stuck and couldn't get out of the water and would thus drown... it was worry and panic in between bouts of laughter. Every time I started to worry, one of the guides would quietly assure me that it was perfectly normal and no, she would not drown, nor was she stuck, she was simply just swimming.