Yesterday we celebrated the 48^th birthday of Petita the elephant in a very different way than other years because due to the “new normality” it has not been possible to organise the traditional colour launch of the Holi Festival, which takes place every year as a tribute to this Asian elephant.

On this occasion, the zookeepers made a series of special attentions to her, such as a manicure session and a morning shower while the daily enrichment was provided. At the end of the party, both elephants received a huge dessert made with more than 20 kilos of fruit and vegetables as a cake, to commemorate the occasion and which they did not hesitate to quickly taste. Both Petita and Kaiso expressed their happiness at so many attentions with noisy little bars.

Then, like every day in summer, they enjoyed their bath in the pool located in the outer meadow, in front of the temple of the elephants. It is one of their favourite activities which is also essential to regulate their temperature in the hottest hours of the day. It also helps them to socialise and keep fraternal, affective and collaborative ties that already characterise these two great friends.

The Petita elephant had to face distancing from her herd years ago, because she did not have the beauty canons established by her species. When she arrived to the park, petita presented a thinness in comparison with the rest of the females. For the group of elephants that lived in Terra Natura Benidorm, Petita was not very attractive, which generated a situation of rejection by the pachyderms, until she gained weight and thanks to her inseparable friend Kaiso she overcame that rejection and finally recovered her status that corresponded to her within the herd.