These are used to control the movement of elephants in the chute and to facilitate the administration of injections and acaricides. Both parts of each enclosure unit contain a water and hay trough in opposite corners. Access to these must be through vertically slatted grid openings that allow for trunk movement in a vertical plane during eating and drinking activities. These slatted grids reduce hay wastage and prevent the elephants from climbing into the troughs. Adequate shade must be provided in the holding enclosures.
Elephants tolerate cold better than heat because of their low surface area to body mass ratio.
Adequate water must always be available not only for drinking purposes but also for the elephants' characteristic behavioural and thermoregulatory activities. Strategically placed showers may be erected in each boma for wetting-down purposes. The water mixed with soil after dusting activities is important natural skin care for elephants, and protects them from sunburn. Hardwood rubbing posts are greatly appreciated by elephants, and assist in preventing the accumulation of excess layers of dead epidermis. Elephant bomas should be constructed in such a manner that drainage does not overflow from one compartment to the next.