Zoo Elephants: Meet Devi
Posted at 10:26 am September 28, 2006 by Ron Ringer
We have two Asian elephants at the San Diego Zoo and I would like to introduce to you Devi. She is a 29-year-old female who came to us in 1977 from an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka. Devi weighs 7,825 pounds (3,550 kilograms) and is easy to recognize because of her very short tail. Like all Asian elephants, she has smaller ears than the African, two humps on the top of her head, and a rounded back.
Devi was raised in our Children’s Zoo and came to the Zoo’s main exhibit years later. It was not unusual to see Devi with her keeper walking around the Children’s Zoo. In the native language of Sri Lanka, Devi means “little princess” and boy, is she!
Devi is a very personable elephant and very smart. One of our jobs as keepers is to enrich the lives of these wonderful creatures both physically and mentally. If you have been to our exhibit on Elephant Mesa, you may have noticed lots of toys hanging around. These are basically elephant pinatas. We fill them with different food items and the elephants have to figure out how to get the food out. Devi is in a league of her own. No matter how hard we make them, she is always the first to figure it out. She has amazed us more often than not.
Like Tembo (see Zoo Elephants: Meet Tembo), Devi has become a pretty good artist in her own right. Not only does she paint with brushes and sponges, but she is very good at blow painting. That’s right, blow painting! I pour the paint in her trunk and she blows it on to the canvas. It is very messy, but the end results are pretty cool. Don’t worry, all of our paints are nontoxic. (Devi is pictured above with keeper Victoria Zahn and her latest artwork.)
On hot days at the Zoo, Devi is usually the first one in the pool. She loves the water! She likes to dive, splash, and, on occasions, she will include our visitors in her fun. She loves to get a big trunkfull of water and blow it out toward the crowd. I think she likes all the screams and laughter.
Ron Ringer is a senior mammal keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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September 28th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Thanks for introducing us to the ” other” elephants. What a wonderful job you have – to be able to work with such intelligent animals. I am envious! Thanks for all the blogs.
September 28th, 2006 at 11:49 am
I am amazed at how small the canvas is that the elephants paint on! They must have really precise handling of the brush to paint such a small square! If you could ever video tape a painting session I would really love to see how the elephants do it. Thank you for these wonderful blogs.
September 28th, 2006 at 11:55 am
Devi sounds like a wonderful friend for Tembo. They sound like they have a wonderful life on Elephant Mesa. Too bad I live in VA and only get to the zoo every 20 years. Keep taking great care of these wonderful animals and enriching their lives while they enrich the lives of the humans that have the privilege to work with and visit them.
September 28th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for letting us know about Devi. I have been forunate enough to go on the sunrise strolls and was able to see all of the elephants by their barn and see them get some food along with learning about them from the keepers (a great big thank you for taking the time to talk to us). I have witnessed Devi in the water playing during the summer; she is a delight to watch and I know she is having fun.
September 28th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
has devi or smitty ever had a calf?
Editor’s note: No, they have not.
September 29th, 2006 at 8:54 am
Thanks, Ron, for introducing us to Devi. She sounds like a lot of fun. Like Margaret, I live on the East Coast, too, and can only experience these incredible animals through your web site and cams. And, of course, these blogs. You’re a great blogger, Ron; you really bring things to life – and you’re funny, too. Thanks and keep them coming. Oh, and please give Devi a little pat on her trunk for me!!!!
Thanks again.
September 30th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
do you guys use protected contact with devi, smitty, and tembo?
December 6th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Devi Forever!