To commemorate the date, a Holi festival will be held in which more than 400 kilos of coloured powder will be thrown.

Petita the elephant is getting ready to celebrate her 50th birthday, a very special and significant date that we want you to enjoy in style. To commemorate the five decades of life of this emblematic elephant, the traditional Hindu Holi party will be organised next Saturday from 11 am, in which hundreds of kilos of coloured powder will be thrown among the visitors.

The preparations for the birthday celebrations began this morning with a shower and pedicure session, carried out by the zookeepers. Tomorrow, they will start painting Asian-inspired drawings on the foreheads of Petita and her inseparable friend Kaiso. They will first use white as a base, and then add bright colours. They are also preparing the fruit and vegetables that will be part of the offering given to the elephant as part of the celebration of her 50th birthday.

The commemoration will start with the arrival of an Indian entertainment group that will welcome visitors to the Pangea area. There, those who wish to, will have the traditional bindi or tidak placed on their foreheads. In Hindu culture, this symbolises wisdom. The procession will then move on to the park’s amphitheatre, where an educational exhibition will be held, focusing on the flight of birds of prey.

Once the exhibition is over, an offering of fruit and vegetables will be given to Petita and Kaiso in the elephant meadow. Both elephants will be able to enjoy a large dessert prepared with fruit and vegetables such as watermelons, apples and tomatoes, which on this occasion will be refrigerated so that the elephants can cool down. When the fruit has been offered, the audience will sing the popular ‘Happy Birthday’ song to Petita the elephant.

The festivities will continue in the village of Napastepur. Here, the grand colour battle of the Holi festival will take place. This time, more than 400 kilos of pigmented powder will be used, as well as 5,000 bottles of coloured water and 15 cannons with coloured powder under pressure, transforming this Asian-themed area into a stage dedicated to colour and fun. In the afternoon, the Aqua Natura Benidorm water park will host a colourful foam party.

A story of overcoming

The celebration of the 50th anniversary of this elephant is special because of the number itself, but also because of the story of overcoming that this animal hides. When Petita arrived at Terra Natura Benidorm she was discriminated against by her herd, as she was considered ugly by her peers due to her thinness. In the eyes of her companions, this thinness made her an unattractive specimen. But thanks to the help of her inseparable friend, Kaiso, the elephant overcame this rejection and was finally accepted by the herd.