Archive for the ‘Elephant Care’ Category

Nov
21

The Swim Lessons were a Success

Posted by in Baylor,Elephant Care,Shanti,Tupelo

Baylor, Shanti, and Tupelo in the new pool

Our entire herd is having a great time in their new, expanded exhibit, and Baylor and Tupelo have picked their favorite part of all-the giant swimming pool! Elephants love the water, and bathing is one of their favorite activities. Although elephants are very large and do not look like the most graceful of swimmers, they actually have a few advantages in the water. Elephants are naturally buoyant, making it easy for them to float in the water, but the biggest advantage is their trunk. When swimming, elephants can raise the tip of their trunk above the water and breathe through it like a snorkel. This allows them to be underwater for as long as they like, which is especially helpful in the wild when crossing large, deep rivers.
Tupelo, now 13 months old, and Baylor, now 18 months old, are gradually learning to swim in the deep end of their new 80,000 gallon pool. Over the past few months, keepers have slowly filled the pool so that the calves could get used to swimming in deeper waters. At first, Baylor and Tupelo could stand on the bottom and lay down to float on their sides. As the water level rose, the calves could practice kicking and breathing through their trunks. Now, the pool is almost filled to the highest level, and the rest of our herd is starting to enjoy swimming as well. Tess often joins her calf Tupelo in the pool, and usually relaxes while floating on her side to cool off. Shanti, Baylor’s mom, loves to play in the pool with both calves by splashing with her trunk. Tucker loves to splash and swim, but most of the time you can only see his trunk above the water. Even Thailand and Methai get in the shallow end to cool off!

The elephants get in the pool when the mood strikes them, but chances are if you stop by the new Asian Elephant exhibit on a warm day, you will see the Baylor and Tupelo splashing, running and swimming, enjoying all their new habitat has to offer.

Shanti, Baylor and Tupleo playing in the new pool

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Aug
18

Everyday is a good day to go for a swim

Posted by in Elephant Care,Play Time

Everyone here inHoustonis feeling the heat of summer!  Thai, the zoo’s 12,000 pound, 45 year old, male elephant will often spend time in his pool in the summer. But, he only likes to swim when it is HOT and SUNNY!  At 1:30 every day, the Elephant care team has a keeper chat and provides guests with a chance to learn about elephants.  During the summer, the chat includes a bath or hose down for the elephant herd. For Thai, the chat also includes going for a swim. Thai is reinforced for getting into the pool by his keepers. Once he enters the pool, he is given a variety of floating food items such as apples, carrots, and even an occasional watermelon.  Getting cooled off on a hot summer day is also very reinforcing!  And sometimes, Thai also takes this opportunity to get himself a nice big drink from the hose.  Zoo guests standing on the Elephant area deck can see Thai up close and get great photos.

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Jun
30

I wonder Who’s Moving next Door?

Posted by in Elephant Care,Elephant Herd

Where did the Giraffes go? What is the zoo building now? These are a few of the things zoo guests have been asking when they stretch to look over the construction fence next to the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. Well, the giraffes have moved to the new African Forest and the zoo is building a new elephant exhibit.

new yard under construction

It may seem like the zoo just built an exhibit and you are right, we did. But, as our herd continues to grow and we try to emulate the wild by creating small family groups, our need for space is also growing. The elephant expansion will be a great new addition to the elephant program. The expansion is just over an acre in size and contains multiple elevated feeders, scratching stumps, several live trees, rocks, and a new pool.

The new pool

The new pool is roughly 80,000 gallons of filtered and sanitized water with large tiered steps to accommodate all of the elephants whether they want to wade in the shallows or submerge in the deep end. All of the elephants will enjoy the pool, but none more than Tucker, Baylor, and Tupelo. The expansion will also feature an area where our elephant caregivers can conduct up close and personal training and husbandry sessions with the elephants. These sessions will provide a much more intimate atmosphere for zoo guests to interact with the elephant care team and hopefully gain a greater appreciation for the magnificence of elephants. This area has rocks and logs which the elephants can walk on to show off their nimbleness and balance. There is also a log pile where the elephants can demonstrate the ways of their ancestors which were used as beasts of burden for thousands of years. Lastly, the expansion area means more space and more options.

Tucker checking out the new digs

As Tucker matures into a solitary bull elephant, he will reap the benefits of having a yard all to himself just like our adult male Thailand. The new yard gives zookeepers a lot more flexibility as to where the elephants spend their days and nights. Zookeepers can rotate which elephants live in each exhibit on a daily basis. This ability to move and shift elephants will provide them with different enrichment opportunities and make them eager to explore.

Written by: Daryl Hoffman, Houston Zoo Large Mammal Curator

Another view of the expansion

 

 

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Apr
25

Who Wants an apple?

Posted by in Baylor,Elephant Care,Tupelo

Baylor and his trainer Martina

When Baylor and Tupelo each reached approximately three months of age, they started eating solid foods! This was a huge milestone for the elephants and the keepers, because at that time formal training sessions began. The keepers started to work with the calves on basic behaviors like targeting, lifting their feet, and lifting their trunks.

Baylor learning to touch a target

Training is now an everyday part of the calves’ lives. Of course, all of their training sets are short and positive. Baylor and Tupelo both really seem to enjoy the attention from their trainers. Favorite training foods for the baby elephants are carrots, yams, and bread.

Written by: Martina Stevens, Houston Zoo Elephant Manager

 

Baylor learning "trunk" behavior

 

Baylor and Shanti with their trainers

 

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Apr
19

Splishin and Splashin

Posted by in Elephant Care,Enrichment,toys,Tucker

With the temperatures rising in Houston, the zoo’s elephants are really enjoying playing with water again.  Tucker, the zoo’s 5 year old bull, is probably the most excited about the warm temperatures.  Tucker is rotated in and out of the bull yard with the pool periodically throughout the week.  On the days that Tucker is in the bull yard, he can mostly be found splashing around the pool.  The keepers also give Tucker toys that float in the pool.  Tucker likes to dunk and smash the toys.  His favorite toys to swim with are large, plastic barrels.  He usually has them submerged within an hour of recieving the barrel.  So, if you are at the zoo and hear trumpeting and splashing from the pool, head to the elephant area viewing deck and watch Tucker have fun.

Written by: Mandy Rinker, Houston Zoo Elephant Keeper

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Oct
28

It’s Pumpkin Time!

Posted by in Elephant Care,Elephant Diet,Elephant Herd,Enrichment

We give our elephant herd pumpkins for enrichment every Fall.

October is Zoo Boo time at the Houston Zoo, and for the Asian Elephant herd that means one thing: pumpkins! Elephants are herbivorous animals and are naturally fond of many varieties of produce. Because they are primarily a fall seasonal item, pumpkins are an excellent source of food enrichment for our herd. Every Saturday and Sunday throughout Zoo Boo, each of the adult elephants (and juvenile Tucker) receives their own pumpkin, specially decorated by our keeper and volunteer staff and filled with other elephant treats! Babies Baylor and Tupelo aren’t quite ready for their own pumpkins yet, but they are enjoying taking part in the experience with the rest of the herd.

Other Zoo Boo activities include: the Fiesta Mart Pumpkin Patch, the Monster Mural, the Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP Tatzoo Parlor, and candy! So bring the whole family out to the Houston Zoo this Halloween weekend for the final days of Zoo Boo 2010, and be sure to stop by the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat at 1:30 to see Thai, Methai, Tess, Shanti, Tucker, Baylor, and Tupelo!

Written by Joel Carter, Houston Zoo Elephant Keeper

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Oct
07

Pint-Sized Enrichment

Posted by in Baylor,Elephant Care,Elephant Diet

Baylor enjoying an ice pop.

At nearly 5 months old, each day brings a new adventure for baby Baylor.  The past few weeks, Baylor has started to eat solid foods, including hay, grain, fruits and vegetables, in addition to nursing from Shanti.  The adult elephants in the Houston Zoo’s herd receive food enrichment items regularly like leafy browse to eat, toys filled with food and fruit ice pops.  Baylor is just beginning to experience these new additions to his environment, and learns by watching the adults interact with their enrichment.  One of our elephants’ favorite enrichment items in the heat of summer are large fruit ice pops filled with an assortment of whole fruits, including apples, pineapples and bananas.  Our adult elephants use their large feet to crush the ice pop, and then eat the pieces.  The elephant keepers made a special baby sized fruit pop with chopped sweet potato, apple and carrot just for Baylor so he could enjoy frozen enrichment as well.  Using all of his 800 pounds he crushed his fruit pop just like he had seen his mom Shanti do to hers.   Picking it up wasn’t quite as easy, though.  Elephants have about 100,000 muscles in their trunk alone, and as you can imagine it can take quite a while before a young elephant can learn how to use all those muscles together to pick up something slippery like a fruit pop.  With a little practice, however, he was able to curl the end of his trunk around the pop and lift it into his mouth. 

Baylor using his foot to crush the ice pop.

Baby elephants nurse anywhere from two to four years, but in the meantime Baylor will continue to eat more solid food and enjoy even more enrichment possibilities as he grows.

Written by Houston Zoo Elephant Keeper Andrea Pohlman

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Sep
30

How Do You Give a 4-month Old Elephant a Bath?

Posted by in Baylor,Elephant Care,Enrichment

 

Houston Zoo Elephant Keeper Mandy Rinker, giving Baylor a bath.

Baylor really enjoys playing in soap bubbles.

Baylor gets a bath every day.

Baylor after his daily bath.

Most people have never given a 4 month old baby elephant a bath.  The elephant team gives baby Baylor and all of the elephants a bath everyday!  Baylor can be more challenging to bathe than the other elephants.  He gets extremely excited and loves to run and play in the water/tub.  Baylor seems to think the bubbles from the soap are fun to play with as his keepers try to scrub him.  Next time you visit the zoo, stop by the barn windows in the morning and there is a good chance of watching the Elephant team give Baylor or another member of his elephant family a bath.

Written by Mandy Rinker, Houston Zoo Elephant Zoo Keeper

 

Jun
20

Father’s Day Post: Houston Zoo’s Elephant Dad, Thailand

Posted by in Baylor,Elephant Care,Elephant Herd,Enrichment,Featured

Baylor's father Thailand at the Houston Zoo

Shanti and Baylor are getting a lot of attention from the other elephants, the zoo staff, and the zoo guests, but what about Baylor’s father Thailand?

 Thailand (also known as Thai) was born in the country of Thailand in 1965.  In his early years Thai was on the road as a performing elephant with the circus.  He retired to the Houston Zoo in 1980.  Thai can be seen in his yard, the bull yard, on most days.  With this hot, humid weather, guests can see Thai almost every afternoon at 1:30 in his pool!  Thai’s keepers hold him to the same standard with his training as the female elephants at the zoo and he knows over 40 behaviors.  Zoo keepers ask Thai to do these  behaviors on a regular basis to maintain the behaviors especially those related to husbandry, keep Thai mentally stimulated, and keep him in good shape.  Zoo guests can see these behaviors when the keepers do training demonstrations with Thai during the day.  There is nothing more impressive than seeing Thai “sit up” as the grand finale of his training demonstrations.  Thai weighs over 13,000 lbs!

Thai knows over 40 behaviors. Zoo keepers ask Thai to do these behaviors on a regular basis to maintain the behaviors especially those related to husbandry, keep Thai mentally stimulated, and keep him in good shape.

 Zoo guests often ask the keepers if Thai knows that he is a new father.  The keepers like to think that he does.  Before Shanti gave birth to Baylor, Thai stood at the gate and watched Shanti get an ultrasound.  Elephants also communicate a great deal with each other, and there is no doubt Thai knew the moment that Baylor was born.  Thai enjoys being around elephant calves, and he can be seen playing with Tucker when he is in the cable yard with the rest of the herd.  Though Thai does not have direct contact with Baylor at this time, he does see Baylor everyday through yards and will eat breakfast next to him in the barn.

Written by Mandy Rinker, Houston Zoo Elephant Keeper

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Jun
11

What are the elephants wearing around their necks?

Posted by in Elephant Care,Elephant Herd

Methai's GPS collar will help us with our daily management of the Houston Zoo elephant herd.

Each of our elephants has been fitted with a nylon collar that contains a GPS unit. What’s the purpose of GPS? Are we afraid that they will not be able to find their way home? Actually we are conducting a study to see how much our elephants travel in a day and what areas of the exhibit they utilize most. This data will be collected and evaluated over the next several months. The findings will be used by the elephant care staff to determine if changes in the daily management are necessary to increase the welfare of the elephants in our care. The collars are worn by different animals on different days and times. Because of this none of the zoo’s elephants are wearing their collars at the same time. 

Written by Daryl Hoffman, Houston Zoo Large Mammal Curator

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