So, since I got back I took some time to relax and unpack. The first day back at work I spent catching up on two weeks’ worth of emails and general zoo happenings. I also was able to start to focus on what I had learnt at elephant school and how to apply it to my lovely elephant.
So, on Tuesday with the aid of Steve, we descended on the elephant enclosure and the poor terrified workers and unleashed “Operation слон - Spring Clean”! Steve started with the concrete outdoor yard, it was covered with mud, leaves and sand, and our red safety lines couldn’t be seen. We managed to find one proper broom and a squeegee and eventually managed to get a hose pipe long enough to reach the yard. Steve swept, hosed and squeegeed for hours until it was sparkling clean. I started on the sand outdoor enclosure. I don’t think the sand has ever been changed or dug over, it was packed down completely solid. So I started digging at one end of the enclosure, just to turn the sand over and try to refresh it a bit. Also by loosening the sand it may give Boy the possibility of digging, which is a natural behaviour that I want to encourage. We all worked for most of the day in the outdoor enclosure – well, Steve and I worked but the keepers mostly moaned and whinged about having to do some work. They started to work after we told them that they sounded like little old ladies, except that little old ladies dig better than they do! We managed to get about a third of the enclosure done, which was pretty good.
The other new thing I have introduced since elephant school is an exercise regime for Boy. He was very fat, but after we changed his diet earlier in the year he began to slowly lose the weight. The problem now is that under where the fat was he has little or no muscle mass. So, I need to get him properly fit. The question is – how do you exercise a huge elephant? What I decided to do was to rather than scatter his lunch around the enclosure (which I used to do) I would throw it for him a couple of pieces at a time so he would have to walk from one end of the enclosure to the other to get the food (elephants can walk huge distances in the wild). He really didn’t like this idea at first and looked very sad about it but after a few throws he got the idea and trotted along to collect his carrots! I also realised that I could take this one stage further. We were told at elephant school that having the opportunity to climb was great for elephants – another good natural behaviour. Our elephant swimming pool is empty at the moment and has big elephant sized steps down into it. By throwing food into the pool I could encourage Boy to go down and then climb back up again – fantastic exercise for him. I’m introducing this very slowly as it requires a lot of energy for Boy and I don’t want to tire him out completely, just a few times every day and then more as he gets fitter. I imagine that Boy was pretty tired after all his exercise but nowhere near as tired as I was, I ached all over and my hands were covered in blisters from all the digging!
The next day we were back at the elephant enclosure, which was a great disappointment to all the workers! We carried on digging the sand (and they moaned again) and someone managed to find a power-washer from somewhere in the zoo so we spent several hours trying to get that set up. We started power-washing the pool – lots of mud, leaves and sand that needed to be removed as it was a bit slippery and therefore not so safe for elephant exercise. We exercised Boy again, which he seemed to enjoy, although perhaps it’s just having a lot of attention that pleased him. We’ve been trying to get the workers to talk to him when they are near him, which they are gradually starting to do. After Boy’s workout we left him outside and we went in to make a start on his indoor area. Usually this is just swept or brushed with a bit of water. We took the power-hose and removed vast amounts of muck from the floor and walls. It’s very satisfying work! In the afternoon we did some more elephant exercise as we had a TV news crew in who wanted to see what was happening. Again, I only ever seem to get interviewed on TV when I am tired and covered in mud, water and elephant poo!
The rest of the week was much the same, although the workers seemed resigned to the fact that they would be digging and raking and cleaning the elephant enclosure, which was a very nice development. By the end of Friday I ached all over and my multiple blisters were bleeding everywhere – one of the shovels will never be the same again!
It does seem to have paid off so far. Over the weekend we saw the keepers raking the sand enclosure and the vets were exercising the elephant – all good!
So, on Tuesday with the aid of Steve, we descended on the elephant enclosure and the poor terrified workers and unleashed “Operation слон - Spring Clean”! Steve started with the concrete outdoor yard, it was covered with mud, leaves and sand, and our red safety lines couldn’t be seen. We managed to find one proper broom and a squeegee and eventually managed to get a hose pipe long enough to reach the yard. Steve swept, hosed and squeegeed for hours until it was sparkling clean. I started on the sand outdoor enclosure. I don’t think the sand has ever been changed or dug over, it was packed down completely solid. So I started digging at one end of the enclosure, just to turn the sand over and try to refresh it a bit. Also by loosening the sand it may give Boy the possibility of digging, which is a natural behaviour that I want to encourage. We all worked for most of the day in the outdoor enclosure – well, Steve and I worked but the keepers mostly moaned and whinged about having to do some work. They started to work after we told them that they sounded like little old ladies, except that little old ladies dig better than they do! We managed to get about a third of the enclosure done, which was pretty good.
The other new thing I have introduced since elephant school is an exercise regime for Boy. He was very fat, but after we changed his diet earlier in the year he began to slowly lose the weight. The problem now is that under where the fat was he has little or no muscle mass. So, I need to get him properly fit. The question is – how do you exercise a huge elephant? What I decided to do was to rather than scatter his lunch around the enclosure (which I used to do) I would throw it for him a couple of pieces at a time so he would have to walk from one end of the enclosure to the other to get the food (elephants can walk huge distances in the wild). He really didn’t like this idea at first and looked very sad about it but after a few throws he got the idea and trotted along to collect his carrots! I also realised that I could take this one stage further. We were told at elephant school that having the opportunity to climb was great for elephants – another good natural behaviour. Our elephant swimming pool is empty at the moment and has big elephant sized steps down into it. By throwing food into the pool I could encourage Boy to go down and then climb back up again – fantastic exercise for him. I’m introducing this very slowly as it requires a lot of energy for Boy and I don’t want to tire him out completely, just a few times every day and then more as he gets fitter. I imagine that Boy was pretty tired after all his exercise but nowhere near as tired as I was, I ached all over and my hands were covered in blisters from all the digging!
The next day we were back at the elephant enclosure, which was a great disappointment to all the workers! We carried on digging the sand (and they moaned again) and someone managed to find a power-washer from somewhere in the zoo so we spent several hours trying to get that set up. We started power-washing the pool – lots of mud, leaves and sand that needed to be removed as it was a bit slippery and therefore not so safe for elephant exercise. We exercised Boy again, which he seemed to enjoy, although perhaps it’s just having a lot of attention that pleased him. We’ve been trying to get the workers to talk to him when they are near him, which they are gradually starting to do. After Boy’s workout we left him outside and we went in to make a start on his indoor area. Usually this is just swept or brushed with a bit of water. We took the power-hose and removed vast amounts of muck from the floor and walls. It’s very satisfying work! In the afternoon we did some more elephant exercise as we had a TV news crew in who wanted to see what was happening. Again, I only ever seem to get interviewed on TV when I am tired and covered in mud, water and elephant poo!
The rest of the week was much the same, although the workers seemed resigned to the fact that they would be digging and raking and cleaning the elephant enclosure, which was a very nice development. By the end of Friday I ached all over and my multiple blisters were bleeding everywhere – one of the shovels will never be the same again!
It does seem to have paid off so far. Over the weekend we saw the keepers raking the sand enclosure and the vets were exercising the elephant – all good!
Sand that I dug over (after elephant has walked on it)
2 days of sand digging
Steve's lovely clean yard
Me power-washing the pool steps
Boy climbing down the steps for exercise
Boy at the bottom of the pool
Climbing back up again
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