Photo by @NationalZoo

From a social media standpoint, the National Zoo’s live-tweeting last year of panda Mei Xiang’s artificial insemination was brilliant. (It later live-tweeted a panda ultrasound.) The zoo managed to capitalize on the inherent interest in panda pregnancies, effectively boosting its presence on Twitter, and coined a term that won’t soon be forgotten: “vintage sperm.”

This morning the zoo again opted to shed light on some of the things that happen behind the scenes, live-tweeting the daily baths of its three Asian elephants. The tweets are all below, but here are a few facts we gleaned from the morning ritual:

>> The three elephants are bathed every day. Seem like a lot? Not really—elephants are clean animals in the wild, bathing often.

>> It takes two keepers to bathe an elephant—one to do the actual soaping up and hosing down, and another to distract the elephant with treats.

>> Not unexpectedly, the zoo uses a modified fire hose for the baths. Seem a little harsh? Don’t worry—the water is set to a pleasant 90 degrees.

>> Despite having “rough and bristly” skin, the handlers are still careful with the elephants—they use shampoo that won’t irritate the elephants’ eyes or stomach.

>> When the keepers want the elephants to move, they simply ask. The elephants can respond up to 40 commands.

>> The elephants get treats during the baths—fruit, veggies, grains, and leaf-eater biscuits.