A pachyderm paddling pool! Elephants make a splash at zoo

Paddling pool fun for the elephants at Whipsnade Zoo

We all know elephants have trunks, but the playful pachyderms at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo didn’t need swimming gear when they went for a dip this week.

Zookeepers splashed out on a paddling pool as a summer holiday treat for the enclosure’s youngest member – 10-month-old Max.

Asian elephant Max’s birth last October was filmed for documentary The Zoo, which is back on our screens on ITV weekly.

The programme aims to give viewers behind-the-scenes insights into the lives of the zoo’s animals and keepers. It also captured Max’s early stages of development.

The second episode of latest series, which features baby Max’s birth, airs this Sunday at 8pm.

Head elephant keeper Lee Sambrook says: “Bath time is one of Max’s favourite activities so we knew he’d love his own paddling pool to splash around in.

“Having a film crew following us during Max’s first few months was an amazing opportunity to show the public how incredible our elephants are and why breeding and protecting this endangered species is so important.”

Whipsnade has 10 Asian elephants – Mya, Lucha and Kaylee who are all 32 years old, 30-year old Azizah, Karishma, 15, Emmett, 22, and toddlers Donna, five, George, four, and Scott.

Baby Max was born at 5am on October 12 to second-time mum Karishma, measuring three feet tall and weighing in at a hefty 129.5kg.