Elephant Tale

Elephant picture explains mystery of 'leaking jacuzzi' A mystery "leak" draining a jacuzzi in South Africa has been explained after tourists caught an elephant drinking from the pool.




An elephant nicknamed Troublesome is snapped taking a drink from the pool at Etali Safari Lodge, South Africa. Susan Potgieter, owner of the lodge, said: "When I first saw the photograph of her drinking I couldn't believe it. It was something of a relief because we had been trying to work out why the pool had been draining so quickly for weeks but couldn't find a leak anywhere" Photo: CATERS
Affectionately nicknamed 'Troublesome', the animal is well-known to rangers at the reserve for her inquisitive nature.
But no one imagined any connection with a problematic jacuzzi outside one of the £400-a-night lodges.
 After weeks spent trying to solve the mystery Troublesome was finally caught in the act when a guest staying at the lodge heard her outside.
Susan Potgieter, owner of Etali Safari Lodge, said elephants could drink more than 200 litres of water a day so drinking a whole jacuzzi was no problem.
She said: "When I first saw the photograph of her drinking I couldn't believe it. And then it dawned on me of course an elephant was drinking it.
"It was something of a relief because we had been trying to work out why the pool had been draining so quickly for weeks but couldn't find a leak anywhere.
"When it was empty in the morning we first called a plumber, but they could not work out why it was draining either.
"Troublesome was caught in the act by a guest at the lodge who just came outside to have some tea on the decking.
"They were quite surprised to see an elephant taking a drink of her own too, and quickly grabbed a camera.
"We've seen this elephant a lot before and by the lodge, the rangers call her 'Troublesome' not because she causes trouble but because she comes so close to their vehicles."
Susan said Troublesome probably preferred the water of the jacuzzi because it was clean.
She said: "Now that we know what was going on we have tried to provide her an alternative source of water. But sometimes it's hard to get an elephant to change her ways.
"She is a very welcome visitor for us and our guests, except it's probably best to check if she is around before taking a dip in the jacuzzi."