Summer School

Though many of your kids might be out of school for the summer, this is the time that Baby Zuri is in school learning and training with her keepers. One of the keepers at Elephant Encounter recently said that they work on Zuri's training four to six times a day now that the weather is nice outside.

Right now Zuri is working on body positioning training to help the keepers take better care of her. If Zuri learns to back up, or present her side now, it will greatly ease the care in which she receives. Body positioning helps make it easier to bathe Zuri, as well as give inspections to make sure she's healthy and happy.

We always practice positive reinforcement with our Hogle Zoo animals, and Baby Zuri is no exception. If she doesn't feel like working during her training sessions, she doesn't have to, but it's hard for her to resist when she's got some of her favorite treats for rewards! Just like a little baby, Zuri's tastes for reward treats are changing. For a few months, she really loved pomegranate juice for rewards; now she's off the juice and looks forward to bananas and bread for a training job well done.

Remember when you come to Hogle Zoo this summer, Zuri's still a baby! Though she weighs in at just a little bit under 750 pounds, she's still growing quickly and will celebrate her first birthday later on this summer! It's also Dari's 50th birthday (she's the oldest African elephant in accredited North American zoos!) this summer, so keep an eye on our events calendar here to make sure you're part of the festivities.

Training and the meaning of "Foot"

Zuri loves today’s springtime weather! In fact, we’ve hit a major milestone for this time of year—Zuri and Christie have access to their outside yard where they can choose to be in or out at night because the temperatures are so mild.

Just the other morning when our keepers came in to start their day, they had a little laugh when they saw sleeping Zuri; They found her outside in the working yard at Elephant Encounter, sound asleep in her kiddie pool! She’s such a funny baby playing in her hay-filled pool and then getting all tuckered out.

Zuri’s training is coming along nicely too, right now she’s learning “foot” which is a very important behavior for elephants. “Foot” is essential to help the keepers take great care of the elephant’s foot pads. When Zuri learns “foot,” she’ll know to present to the keeper the underside of her foot so they can make sure that there is nothing stuck in her foot to cause any problems, and this will also help with care of her toenails.

Pomegranate Juice Treats

With the snow from this week's storm melting, Zuri will be on exhibit more often toward the end of this week. Still, she is benefiting from the training she is getting from her keepers as she and Christie gear up for this summer's training programs.

Zuri's current favorite method of positive reinforcement? The pomegranate juice treat!! Just the other day, Zuri was getting a pomegranate juice reward for a training session well-done and was so excited she did a headstand! We don't know whose reinforcement was more positive; Zuri's treat or the keepers getting the treat of seeing Zuri's enjoyment.

Hogle Zoo will continue seasonal Pachyderm Programs at Elephant Encounter beginning May 1. These programs showcase the training and behavioral enrichment provided to the elephants, and Zuri will be there right alongside her mom. There are two Pachyderm Programs every day: one at 10:30 am and one at 1:30 pm.

Zuri update on 97.1 ZHT today

If you're in Utah, you know how the spring weather goes: sunny one minute, snowing the next. Right now Zuri and Christie do not have a regular schedule as to when they're going to be out in the working yard. Fear not! We still have a Zuri update for you!

This morning, Lead Elephant Keeper Doug Tomkinson was on 97.1 ZHT talking to the Z Morning Zoo about the latest Zuri news. If you missed it, why not check out the podcast this weekend? Then you'll have your Zuri fix, and we'll bring you more from Elephant Encounter very soon.

Head to the "Podcast" section on 97.1 ZHT and then scroll down to 971 ZHt's Morning Zoo 3-26-10 Part 1 to listen to the segment as it aired live this morning with Frankie, DB and Jessica.

Springtime with Zuri

It's not quite warm springtime weather yet, but Zuri has been spending more time outside in the working yard with Christie. There haven't been many blog updates lately because the weather hasn't allowed Zuri and Christie a regular outdoor schedule for us to report to you, but it seems that things are getting nicer and soon we'll have plenty to show you and talk about!

The elephant keepers called this morning and reported that Zuri weighs in at 614 pounds. She's growing like a good baby elephant, nursing and even eating some hay. As the weather has warmed up in the past few days, the Elephant Encounter staff have been training with Christie as they ready for pachyderm programs which start in a couple of weeks. Zuri has even started a little bit of training too, becoming quite skilled in learning to open her mouth when she is asked. This helps keep Zuri healthy, as keepers can look at her teeth and tongue to make sure everything looks okay.

Of course Zuri gets a treat when she opens her mouth and seems to really enjoy when she gets a squirt of fruit juice!

Mom and Baby!

Christie and Zuri enjoying another winter day outside. Elephant Encounter is wonderful for any season!

Also be sure to check out our first Hogle Zoo podcast where we interview the artist of the Baby Zuri poster featured in this year's World of the Wild Art Exhibition!

Or check it out on YouTube.

Wintertime Outside

Here's a fun video of Christie and Zuri outside on one of January's less-blustery days!