Feast with the Beast training

You can see that Zuri is working out with her ball as she trains for her first Thanksgiving Feast with the Beast this Thursday morning. It's true, Zuri will have her first chance to play with a 700 pound pumpkin. Certainly not to be missed! Feast with the Beast is November 28 from 9 to noon, Zoo hours are from 9 to 4, and we can give you a little hint to get to Elephant Encounter to see Zuri and her pumpkin before 10 am.

Sorry!

Sorry everyone, the last post on Zuri's weight was incorrect. We accidentally typed 342 pounds instead of 442 pounds. A slip of the finger, and we very much apologize for that. It has been corrected, and Zuri has not lost any weight!

Thanks for letting us know!

Today's weigh-in

Zuri continues to steadily grow and weighs in today at 442 pounds. In talking with her keepers, she didn't seem to much mind the snow flurries that fell on Saturday afternoon. In fact, there wasn't enough to accumulate within her yard at Elephant Encounter, so she just hung out on her heated paddock and waited for the sunshine to come back out!

Little Pumpkin

The term "little" is used a bit loosely in the title because Zuri is getting bigger each day! Just this morning, the elephant team revealed that Zuri is at 410 pounds, yet still as active as ever.

Fall is a fun time because there is such an abundance of fresh pumpkin for the elephants. Zuri recently discovered this crazy gourd and has even figured out she can eat. Hogle Zoo elephant keeper Eric Peterson says, "She mostly sticks her head down into the pumpkin, but she has been picking pieces up with her trunk to see what it tastes like." Who says kids can't play with their food?

Each year on Thanksgiving, Hogle Zoo hosts a special event called "Feast with the Beast" where animals get feedings of different foods, and even some get turkey-shaped pinatas filled with tasty treats. This "something special" is called enrichment in the zoo world, and is a great way to keep the animals mentally healthy. A couple of years ago, the elephants started smashing 1,000 pound pumpkins as part of this festive time. The fun continues this year now that Zuri is part of the Hogle Zoo family, and there will be plenty of pumpkins for the elephants to kick and stomp at Elephant Encounter.

Happy Halloween

It's baby's first Halloween and she seems to really enjoy the changing seasons. During Hogle Zoo's Boo at the Zoo event last Saturday, Zuri was on display and spending quite a bit of time with her bucket. She played soccer with the bucket, then she flipped the bucket upside-down, with intentions of standing on her new little pedestal like she was queen of the bucket. Unfortunately, the bucket crunched flat under Zuri's weight and when she turned to look at it, seemed she wondered why it didn't hold her.

Here are some photos of Zuri with her bucket:


Her kiddie pool:


And her box:

Thoughts from Hogle Zoo elephant manager Doug Tomkinson

Today’s Zuri photo is chuckle-worthy because it looks like she has started practicing yoga. This “downward elephant” posture really helps purification of the mind!

While Zuri isn’t really practicing this ancient form of exercise, Hogle Zoo Elephant Manager Doug Tomkinson says he believes the elephant team will start training with her in November or December. Training for husbandry procedures, for enrichment and for exercise is critical to the well-being of elephants, and the keepers will help Zuri learn behaviors which will be useful in her care. For instance, having an elephant lift their foot helps the keepers make sure the bottoms of their feet are clear of rocks or anything else that might make standing or walking uncomfortable. When elephants get older, they learn to present their ear to the keepers for procedures like blood draws or checkups. Behaviors like these might seem easy to the average person, but this all takes significant hours, weeks and work on the part of the keepers. Training also helps bond the animals to their keepers and establishes important relationships.

Right now, however, Zuri seems to be learning and exploring very well on her own. Tomkinson talks a little bit about his experience with Zuri this week:

It’s been just over ten weeks since Zuri was born and she is still adventurous and independent. It’s surprising to me that her curiosity hasn’t lessened. I’m amazed by Zuri every single day; even today when I watched her climb on a log and on her balance beam, I am amazed by her strength and agility. I watch her try new things and see how quickly she learns that she can lift her front legs and then her back legs before she energetically takes off running across her yard.

Zuri continues to seek out new things like solid foods like fruit, hay or popcorn but her trunk isn’t developed enough to help her out with the eating, so she often just sticks her head down through the food just to see what happens. She is still nursing, and will for quite a while.

Rule #18: Limber up!

It's important to limber up, balance and stretch before performing activities like running around your yard, nursing with mom and rolling in the mud. Zuri has mastered the art of limbering, and also appears to be gearing up for Nutcracker Ballet auditions this holiday season.

Update: Zuri weighed in at 374 pounds today!