Word: mahouts
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When Jacques Bailly won the Scripps National Spelling Bee as a 14-year-old in 1980, his first reaction was relief. After spending two grueling days onstage with 100 other young contestants sounding out words like schottische, mahout and elucubrate (the winning word), he recalls just wanting the competition to be over. But nearly 30 years later, he's back again at the World Series of spelling as the contest's official pronouncer. At this year's finals, which kick off May 26 in Washington, D.C., Bailly will read each word and provide its definition, origin and context. TIME spoke...
...metropolis is not a natural habitat for creatures unused to cars or open manholes.) Hotel guests who want to sponsor an elephant can volunteer about $1,000 a month for the animal's upkeep. The donation covers not only vet bills but also the salary of the beast's mahout, or elephant handler. And, of course, a never-ending supply of bananas. (See pictures of Singapore...
...Prior to 20 years ago, these small hotels didn't even exist," says Mary-Anne Denison-Pender, whose Mahout agency promotes small Indian hotels in the U.K. In the '80s, in a bid to finance maintenance on their private properties, some families tried their hand at the hotel business. "Every person with a fort thought they had a hotel, but many of them didn't invest enough, and they got backpackers and low-budget tourists," she says...
...edge of the rugged Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in western India four years ago and put pampered fat cats face-to-face with majestic big cats during private jeep tours through the jungle. More recently, the $630-a-night Oberoi Vanyavilas resort purchased pachyderms to take guests on mahout-guided elephant rides through the countryside...
...Those who pass the three-day course are awarded a certificate of mahout competence, but the real reward is the chance to get up close and personal with these magnificent animals, which guests not only feed but help bathe. The only snag? You and your elephant can get very, very attached. Find out more at anantara.com...