WINSTON — It wasn’t exactly car wash weather on Monday and vehicles weren’t leaving much cleaner, but that didn’t discourage motorists from lining up for a sponge bath from two 39-year-old females.

Wildlife Safari’s African elephants, Alice and Tiki, took turns sucking about two gallons of water from a bucket, holding it in their trunks and spraying each vehicle.

Alice’s technique was a little more creative. The 8,000-pound animal smashed the end of her trunk against the car windows before releasing the water, creating her version of a sprinkler system.

According to park staff, a third elephant named George — who had the day off — really gives 110 percent.

“George is the most enthusiastic,” trainer Katie Alayan said.

“He’s very exuberant with the flinging of the water,” added elephant manager Dinah Wilson.

Since the car wash opened on Friday, about 80 vehicles have been touched by a trunk in one way or another. And so have the passengers.

“It’s spring break so I brought the grandchildren,” Winston’s Judy Haga said, looking back at her excited and giggling passengers. “They’ll never forget this.”

Wilson, who has been the Wildlife Safari elephant manager for 11 years and has worked with elephants for more than 35 years, said she and her team have discussed the idea for an elephant car wash for years and it finally came to fruition this month. The purpose of the wash is twofold. For the elephants, the experience allows exercise and it acts as an enrichment program. At $20 a wash, the idea is also generating funds for the park.

“The guests like it, the team likes it and the elephants like it,” Wilson said. “ We would never do it to the point where it’s fatiguing an animal. It has to be fun.”

With every swipe of the sponge, Alayan and elephant supervisor Carol Matthews praised the elephants with words of encouragement.

The team said the multitalented elephants learned to wash cars in one day. All three of the animals know how to paint, so the task at hand was simply encouraging them to use the same motion with a sponge. They also naturally suck and blow water, so staff trained them to blow the water at a certain object.

“We modified what they naturally already do,” Wilson said. “They’re very intelligent.”

She said the animals’ intelligence could be compared to that of a 3- or 4-year-old child, and that washing the vehicles is a simple feat considering, George could pick up a 500-pound object if he felt up to the challenge.

So far, Wilson said, the only real mishap has been the occasional dropped sponge.

Staff said the kids laugh, scream and tap on the windows — but the excitement isn’t limited to children.

Six-year-old Jacob Haga happily explained the moment he relished most during the experience.

“When the elephant stuck its trunk on the window,” he said. “And Grandma freaked out.”

• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.