Hanako

Eating cabbages while zoo staff are cleaning her play ground

Hanako (lit. flower child) is a female elephant at a local zoo in Kichijoji. She came from Thailand 56 years ago when she was two. She is the oldest elephant in Japan today.

She looks sad. Maybe all elephants look like her close up. Considering domestic elephants die much earlier than wild ones, she must be spending a happy life, I hope. At least she is loved by locals.