I had the pleasure last week of spending some time with an absolutely beautiful 34-year-old lady.
Her name was Traci, and her eyes were captivating and her skin was gorgeous. I told my wife all about the encounter and she didn’t even mind –because Traci was an Indian elephant in town Thursday with the Carson and Barnes Circus (out of Hugo, Okla.).
Long-time elephant trainer Armando Loyal had also brought Isla and Kelly with him, but it was Traci who was the center of attention prior to “the world’s biggest big top show,” as she calmly and serenely walked around a designated area with circus-going customers on her back.
I didn’t attend the actual show, but I had purposed in my heart to pay a visit to Loyal and Traci, after meeting them in 2015 the last time the traveling circus made a stop in Houston. It’s not often that a resident of the Ozarks gets to stand a few feet away from such a magnificent animal, and I wanted to pay close attention to her and the way she carried her massive frame.
I was not disappointed. What a graceful, majestic creature.
Soon after Loyal stepped out of his large travel-trailer parked next to the fenced-in elephant area, it was apparent that he, his human assistant and their one-ton cohort were all consummate professionals. It was also obvious they were friends.
With a few short verbal requests, Traci laid her huge body down so her much smaller partners could outfit her back with her giant pad and saddle (big enough to hold about five small humans, or a few larger ones). I was amazed at the way she slowly lowered herself to the ground, front legs pointed forward and back legs backward, with her back in the perfect upright position for the two men to ready her for business.
When the saddle was appropriately strapped on (just like is done with a horse, only with much larger and sturdier gear), Loyal quietly asked Miss Traci to get up. She did – front legs first then rear – and then plodded toward the platform where people boarded her for their ride.
The interaction between the colossal animal and her main man was full of respect, obedience and undoubtedly even love. It was all routine (as this traveling circus does shows many nights in a row in different cities in many states), but it wasn’t taken lightly by any of the parties involved.
On the contrary, there was a defined excellence to each and every sound and movement. Traci wasn’t so much a giant pet as she was a valued colleague.
The thing I’ve always been drawn to about elephants is their trunk. It’s such an amazing tool – strong as a vice but delicate as a flower petal.
Almost the whole time Traci was working in the riding area, she was using her lengthy head-mounted appendage to gather bunches of grass and raise them to her mouth. The way she grabbed grass was just like a person might do it by hand; the end of her trunk moved in a circular motion through the edible greenery, each time picking up a bit more of the good stuff until there was enough to amount to a mouth full.
As Traci waited at the loading station for another set of riders to get in place, I mentioned to Loyal how fascinated I was by her trunk. He said he was, too.
“Look right at the end of it,” he said. “See that little triangular thing on the tip? That’s called a ‘finger.’ She can easily pick up a dime off of a solid surface with it.”
The triangular appendage at the end of Traci’s trunk is her prehensile “finger.”
“No way!” I said.
“Yeah, it’s incredible,” he said.
Basically, an elephant’s finger is a fully prehensile extremity, just like a human’s finger. But the scale is amazing; it’s like putting a mechanical pinky at the tip of an 18-wheeler and having it pick up a pebble that’s in the way.
Then I watched Traci’s feet closely, and came to a fresh realization of their awesome functionality.
As she moved about, at first forward and then to the left in the direction Loyal recommended, her titanic did something I wasn’t previously aware of. As Traci lifted a foot for her next calculated and determined step, it would actually contract during its time off the ground. Then as it reconnected with Earth, it would literally expand as if to allow more support and cushioning of the great weight it was bearing.
What a machine. I have no idea whether NASA has studied the mechanics of an elephant’s foot, but I’d say it would be worth the effort.
Anyway, as showtime approached Loyal asked Traci to return to the shade of a large tent where her work had begun, and the saddling task played out in reverse.
I was left with little reaction than to smile and yell out, “thanks to all of you.”
As I walked way, I said to God, “that’s some nice work, Lord. Only you could have come up with something as wonderful as that.”
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald.
Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.