A super sweet video has emerged of a close-knit herd of Asian elephants taking a dip in the water at Dublin Zoo over the Easter weekend.
The herd were caught on camera playfully splashing one another on Easter Sunday, with the youngsters of the herd the first to dive into the cool water in their exhibit at the Kaziranga Forest Trail.
Asian Elephants are considered to be endangered and it is estimated there are less than 42,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
Read more: Joe Duffy's Liveline return date reportedly confirmed
They are found in forests, grassland and shrub land in a number of countries in South and Southeast Asia including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Borneo.
There is not enough collected data on wild Asian elephants to estimate their lifespan. However, it has been suggested that Asian elephants can live between 40-70 years in the wild and up to 80 years in zoos.
Due to their size, Asian elephants require huge quantities of food. They often spend three-quarters of the day feeding.
They feed mainly on grasses, but also on tree bark, roots and leaves.
They have also been known to eat bananas, rice and sugarcane.
The Phoenix Park is now home to a dozen elephants with nine calves born in almost as many years.
In 2006, elephant consultants and experts in Dublin Zoo created the Kaziranga Forest Trail. Then matriarch Bernadine arrived at the zoo, followed by her sister Yasmin with her three-year-old female calf Anak.
In 2007, Bernadine’s female calf Asha was the first elephant born in the Republic of Ireland, while Yasmin gave birth to a bull, Budi, who has since gone to a zoo in Denver.
Since then the herd has grown with the arrival of Kavi, Ashoka and Samiya arrived in the summer of 2014 followed by Zinda, Avani and Kabir and, most recently, the little bull, Sanjay, who was born in 2018 were all fathered by the bull Upali.
Read more: Dublin Zoo welcomes new species just in time for Easter holidays
Read more: Dublin Zoo opens new Himalayan-inspired habitats for red pandas and snow leopards
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin New straight to your inbox.
