THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A nice, relaxing soak
Published Saturday February 16th, 2008
A Laotian mahout bathes his elephant in a river yesterday near Paklay, Laos, following opening ceremonies for the country’s annual Elephant Festival. The event is held to draw attention to the plight of both domestic and wild elephants in Asia. Laos, once known as the land of a million elephants, has seen its numbers dwindle to less than 2,000 domestic and wild elephants combined.