Why do people like animals so much? When we look at animals, they inspire us and remind us of other things we know. This is the first of a new series of blog posts describing what animals mean to me when I look at them. Maybe some of the things that come to my mind comes to yours as well.

Elephants

When I think of elephants I think of old age. Look at these photos:

The photo on the above right also reminds me of what happens to people who lie in the bathtub for too long, their skin gets all wrinkly like that. I wonder if that elephant had laid in a mud bath for too long.

When I think of an elephant’s ears I think of flying. Their ears look like small wings. I can only imagine what it would be like if these massive, bulky creatures could fly. Somehow, though, I don’t think this idea originated with me….

When I look at an elephant’s trunk, I think of a vacuum cleaner

A really big and powerful vacuum cleaner, even though it’s very skinny at the end—it reminds me of one of the attachments I can put on my vacuum cleaner to vacuum in tight spaces. I just have to think that if the elephant wanted to, it could make its enclosure spotless, just by sucking up all the debris in its trunk.

Just from the eyes, an elephant looks very shy.

They seem afraid to make eye contact. This appearance of shyness is ironic in light of their large size—what do they have to be afraid of? Nevertheless, I can imagine the elephant always being the one to sit in the corner near the punch bowl waiting for another animal to ask it to dance at a party.

To me, an elephant’s tail looks likes a mustache on a nose. Doesn’t it?

It looks like a long, shaggy mustache or even nose hair that could use a little clipping.  It reminds me of some of the hippies I’ve seen in Golden Gate Park; they wear these wrinkled coats and often have defiant facial hair.

Elephants have great body language

This one looks athletic, and ready to go for a walk in the park, or across the width of Africa.

The elephant’s tusks remind me of pieces of white chalk. If we could get a hefty enough man to lift the elephant and move it next to a chalkboard, I almost feel he could write with it.

When I look at the Elephant’s wrinkled forehead, I get a very specific reaction. I think of Vice President Joe Biden

They have the same wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes. I figure Vice President Biden must have a lot to remember, just like elephants too.

I think elephants have inspired a lot of art and popular culture. In The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas wanted to have big, impressive battle tanks. What’s more impressive than a tank modeled after an elephant?

They were called AT-AT’s, All Terrain Armored Transports. They were slow, and lumbering, but very strong. They could crush things with their powerful feet.

In The Empire Strikes Back, one of them almost steps on Luke Skywalker. Probably an elephant stepping on someone would make that person feel equally uncomfortable.

Don’t elephants look like they wear underwear?

Do you see the folds of skin between the legs? It looks like loose, grey underwear. When I think of Fruit of the Loom now, I think of elephants, because they’re vegetarians, and because they look like they are wearing a pair of Fruit of the Loom underwear.