Sleeping Giants
Posted at 3:44 pm June 17, 2009 by Emily Rothwell
Swazi enjoys a nap.
However, one morning a few weeks ago the elephants weren’t active at all; in fact, quite a few of our elephants were still asleep! I am frequently asked how elephants sleep, and you may be surprised to hear that they do sleep lying down. The popular assumption is that elephants always sleep standing up, which can be true for a quick cat nap. However, elephants lie down on the ground when they sleep soundly for a few hours each night. There are even records of elephants snoring while deep in sleep! I have also seen at least one of our adult females, Swazi, kicking her feet while sleeping, much like dogs do when they are dreaming.
We are continually learning about the nighttime patterns of the herd through the data we are collecting from our elephants’ GPS collars, which are worn for 24-hour periods to record their movements (see post, How Far Do Elephants Walk in One Day?). We are able to plot the GPS points onto a map of the Wild Animal Park elephant yard and see exactly where that elephant was at any given time. What we have found is that some of our elephants may have preferred sleeping spots, as noted by repeated GPS points in certain locations over a few nighttime hours. For example, it seems our dominant female, Swazi, wanders into the indoor barn to sleep for a few hours, whereas another female, Ndula, seems to prefer the pool at the far end of the yard (when it is empty, of course!). So our GPS collars not only tell us how far the elephants walk and where they walk, but also let us know where they like to sleep.
Emily Rothwell is a Heller Fellow Research Associate with the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research.
Watch the Park’s elephants daily on Elephant Cam.
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June 17th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Thank you for this update, but PLEASE tell us about the new calf!! What is his name? Can we have some pictures, please? PRETTY PLEASE?
Thanks!
Moderator’s note: We’ll soon have a post about the newest calf, Ingadze, thanks to his keepers.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
emily, interesting post but leaves me a bit puzzled and confused and wanting to ask questions if you don’t mind! in the past, when elephants have been down for one reason or another, it was always imperative to get them up on their feet as quickly as possible so as not to put unwanted weight and pressure on ribs and lungs!! at least that’s what I have seen on different elephant features on tv. I have never heard of elephants sleeping laying down! are you sure about this!!? I am amazed!
Emily responds: Although it may be surprising, we are sure that elephants sleep lying down. It is a reasonable thought that such large body size would give a lot of pressure, but an elephant’s body is built to hold heavy weight! Problems may arise if an elephant remains lying down for more than several hours and cannot get up on her own, and in these cases certain health issues can occur. However, wild elephants in Africa and Asia lie down to sleep every night and, because we encourage naturalistic behavior, if one of our elephants lies down for a nap, we do not make attempts to bring them to their feet. In fact, we actually ask the African elephants at the Wild Animal Park to lie down in training sessions (see the post http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/elephants-calves-are-fast-learners/), and we have evidence that the San Diego Zoo’s elephants now housed in the new Elephant Odyssey exhibit have been lying down to sleep as well (see http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wordpress/default/settling-in-at-elephant-odyssey/)
June 18th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Emily thanks for the interesting things you took the time to tell us about. I noticed yesterday they had no water in their pool and I felt sorry for them as the day before they seemed to be enjoying the pool so much. I am sure there must be some good reason for this but I only see the one pool on web cam so was just wondering why. I enjoy watching them in the water. Thanks again for the nice article. Have a great day!!!!
Emily responds: It is true that the elephants enjoy swimming in the pool at the far end of their yard. The pool is often filled but it must be drained from time to time for cleaning and other maintenance.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:18 am
The last time I was at the park (June 4th) one of the volunteers said that two of the females we’re pregnant. I was wondering if there was any information about who and when they are due
Emily responds: Yes, we are expecting not ONE, not TWO, but THREE African elephant births at the Wild Animal Park next year! It will be a very exciting year for the herd!
June 18th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Ndula is pregnant from what i’ve heard and from what im guessing, the only two other possibilities are Lunglile or Swazi (Samba or Umoya could also be possibilities?)
June 18th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Is Moose expected to leave in the near future or any other elephant??
Emily responds: We are not planning for any of the calves, including Musi, to be separated from the herd at this time. Someday far the future we may have to separate male calves from the herd, as they would leave on their own in the wild, but those males are older than Musi is now and nothing is currently planned.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:48 am
I must say, I was surprised to read that they lay down to sleep. I guess I always thought that if they were down, it was difficult to get back up. I am looking forward to an update on the newest addition to the group. I tuned in about a year ago, [maybe longer] and got to watch the whole group at the water pool and was transfixed by their antics. I could see keepers standing along the wall while the entire herd seemed to be in or near the water. One in particular was actually frolicking like a toddler at a water park. I would love to see a video and hear a description of which elephants seem to enjoy all that water the most. Perhaps you could get the keepers to provide one for us. We are currently sweltering here in the Ridhmond area so watching the elephants in the water is the next best thing to being at a pool.
Emily responds: Before I started studying elephants I also assumed it was difficult for them to lie down and then get back to their feet. In fact, when I first saw Swazi lie down one afternoon, I was concerned enough that I called one of our keeper’s attention to it to make sure she was all right. As it turned out, she just wanted to take a quick nap. It appears a slow and laborious process for these huge animals to lower their bodies to sit on their hind knees and then gently fall to their sides to lie down, as you see in the photo above.
In terms of swimming behavior, I was lucky to see a very active morning a few weeks ago where the entire herd took a turn playing in the pool, even three- month-old Ingadze took a few steps in! Swazi was very enthusiastic, and she pushed her way through the other elephants into the center of the pool and then thrashed around in the water, throwing her trunk back and forth and splashing the rest of the herd. In contrast, Lungile stood on the side of the pool until almost all of the other elephants were out of the water and then stepped in and thrashed and splashed all by herself. Therefore, they all seem to enjoy the pool, but may have preferences of who to go swimming with!
June 19th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hi! Just got on the elephant cam today, and saw Umnganzi(?) with her new baby calf on the cam! He’s still pretty small compared to his sister, Khosi, who was nearby them. Read your update about sleeping elephants, and it was interesting. I kind of knew that elephants do lay down to go to sleep off and on, but what I’m interested in is how they get enough sleep out in wild Africa with all of the predators around them trying to snag a calf for dinner! That would be a very interesting study as well! Thanks, moderator, for comfirming the name of the new calf, Ingadze. I’ve been reading a few comments in the last couple of days mentioning that name that was from a newspaper source, so I was hoping for some confirmation on that. I also would like for you to get a very cute picture and the latest info on Ingadze on the Meet the Elephants page. He’s the only elephant missing on that list! Also, we need confirmation on some news that some people have been getting about at least 3 of the momma elephants having babies next year! Sounds like the Elephant Odyssey has been a huge hit so far! Congrats on your success with it. I’m looking forward to new updates on this mixed elephant herd of Asian and African elephants, and how all of them are getting along so far. I’ve seen a nice picture of one of the Asian elephants on the front page of the SDZ website that has crossed ivories under his trunk. Which elephant is that and what’s the elephant’s name? It’s not very often that you see an elephant—Asian or African—that have crossed ivories like that.
Well, gonna go for now. Please get that update written about Ingadze ASAP, ok? Want to know how this little guy is doing!
Thanks,
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
Emily responds: You ask a good question that I didn’t include in my blog about exactly how much time elephants spend sleeping. Studies show that elephants will sleep about 3 to 7 hours each night, and usually sleep lying down for 1 to 4 hours at a time. Therefore, the pattern seems to be that the elephants will lie down to sleep for a few hours, then rise to their feet to eat and graze, then lie down to sleep again. One study of elephant sleeping behavior reported that elephants in a herd coordinated sleeping with one another so that if one elephant lay down to sleep or rose again to her feet to feed, the others did the same soon after the first. In terms of predators, elephants are more likely to lie down to sleep during the night rather than during the day, which is likely when the threat of predators is greater.
Also, the picture of the elephant you saw was likely Ranchipur, our Asian bull elephant that lived at the Wild Animal Park and now lives in Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo. Tusks continue to grow over the course of an elephant’s lifetime, and because Ranchipur is an older bull elephant his tusks are very long and slightly crossed near the end of his trunk. You may notice from recent pictures that Rancipur’s tusks are shorter and don’t cross anymore, and this is because keepers trimmed off nearly three feet before his move to Elephant Odyssey. This was done to relieve him of the weight of the tusks, to decrease the risk of breaking a tusk while in transit, and simply so he could fit into the crate that we used to move him!
June 19th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
allowing comments helps engage people – but that is only 1/2 the battle – to complete the education loop, you must monitor the comments and respond to questions and clear-up misconceptions.
Like several of your visitors, I have heard that if elephants lie down for more than a quick dirt bath, they can develop lung and heart trouble. Is this now known to be inaccurate? I have also read that their knees prevent them from running up or down hills – is that true?
thank you for all of the wonderful behind the scenes work you do at the San Diego Zoo that rarely receives recognition outside the industry.
Emily responds: An interesting fact is that elephants do not technically “run.” That is, they do not have a moment during movement when all four of their legs are off the ground at the same time. Another research team discovered this when they studied the movements of both Asian and African elephants. Therefore, at best, elephants only walk fast. Oftentimes our calves at the Wild Animal Park romp around the yard, and it may be true that calves can technically run, but calves were not included in this research study so we don’t know for sure. Natural terrain for African elephants is relatively flat, but if you’ve seen our elephant yards at the Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo, there are a few slopes that they can easily walk up and down.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
“but what I’m interested in is how they get enough sleep out in wild Africa with all of the predators around them trying to snag a calf for dinner!”
Good question. Do the adults take turns sleeping so someone’s always awake to defend the calves?
“I’ve seen a nice picture of one of the Asian elephants on the front page of the SDZ website that has crossed ivories under his trunk. Which elephant is that and what’s the elephant’s name? It’s not very often that you see an elephant—Asian or African—that have crossed ivories like that.”
That’s the drawing next to the photo of one of the female Asian elephants, right? That’s no Asian or African elephant – it’s a drawing of an American elephant, the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), extinct now but once native to southern California and now the reason elephants fit the zoological-past-of-San-Diego theme!
“thank you for all of the wonderful behind the scenes work you do at the San Diego Zoo that rarely receives recognition outside the industry.”
I agree!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Thank you so much for all the information you gave on the elephants . I find it so interesting. Also can you let us know which three elephants are expecting. Mabu has been busy…lol
June 19th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
“Emily responds: We are not planning for any of the calves, including Musi, to be separated from the herd at this time. Someday far the future we may have to separate male calves from the herd, as they would leave on their own in the wild, but those males are older than Musi is now and nothing is currently planned.”
This is like when animals in other species get moved from zoo to zoo according to SSP plans to prevent inbreeding, right?
Meanwhile, the adults in this herd met each other in the wild, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why they seem to have more reproductive success than other herds in zoos (Swazi et al. and Mabhulane chose each other, right?).
Likewise, the Sydney Morning Herald article “Trouble with Puggles” by Stephanie Peatling about platypus twins hatching in Taronga Zoo says:
“…Battaglia believes one of the reasons this attempt was successful was the living arrangements of the platypus family.
“As well as changes to the soil, the position of the burrows and even the zoo’s personnel, the crucial thing was giving the male, Abby, a choice of mate by putting him in with two females, Maryanne and Tarana. The unit will be kept together to see if the success can be repeated…”
So when it’s time for Vus’musi to leave the nest, is there any way to let him and his potential new herd have mate choice too? In the wild he’d leave Ndulamitsi’s herd and go look for unrelated females on his own, but you obviously can’t let him wander about North America like that. Would the WAP have enough resources – and would he have enough patience with the travel – to go on a tour of SSP-recommended zoos so he can settle down at the one where he and the ladies hit it off with each other?
Jeff Andrews, Elephant Care Manager, responds: When it’s time for Musi to leave his current herd, we’ll select a facility in advance that best meets his social needs and the general population’s genetic needs. If things don’t work out for whatever reason, we can always move him to another home that was also high on our list. But all of this is many years away.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Emily, imagine my surprise when I pulled up the blog this morning and saw that you had responded to each post with details and answers to the questions. Thank You, thank you, thank you. You have certainly gone above and beyond the job requirements. We posters are a hungry lot and we love details, details, details.
June 20th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Interesting!
June 20th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
I was wondering if Lungile is pregnant. I felt so bad for her when she lost her baby. Also, in the wild cows don’t usually have their babies so close together as Umngani did. How is she handling having two toddlers compared to just the one? What is their relationship like? From what I can tell Khosi seems to be a devoted sister.
Jeff Andrews, Elephant Care Manager, responds: Lungile is not currently pregnant. But she probably will become pregnant again in the next few years. Umngani and her calves are all doing great together. Her interbirth interval was shorter than average but averages are just that, somewhere near the middle of two extremes. Ndlulamitsi, Swazi, and Umoya are all due in 2010.
June 21st, 2009 at 10:57 am
Since Musi is not related genetically to the young female calves, will he be kept at the WAP for future breeding?
Jeff Andrews, Elephant Care Manager, responds: Yes, from a genetic standpoint Musi can breed any of the females other than his mother. But not if Mabu has anything to say about it! Socially, Musi won’t be able to breed for many years. And he’s only five years old. We have many years to decide how to handle that situation. For now, we have no plans to move him or separate any of the calves from their mothers.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
“Jeff Andrews, Elephant Care Manager, responds: When it’s time for Musi to leave his current herd, we’ll select a facility in advance that best meets his social needs and the general population’s genetic needs. If things don’t work out for whatever reason, we can always move him to another home that was also high on our list. But all of this is many years away.”
Thanks for your response! Also, I just realized that even if he can’t choose his next herd himself he’d still have mate choice within that herd (and the females would too, although their choices would be limited to either Vus’musi or no male).
“Emily, imagine my surprise when I pulled up the blog this morning and saw that you had responded to each post with details and answers to the questions. Thank You, thank you, thank you. You have certainly gone above and beyond the job requirements. We posters are a hungry lot and we love details, details, details.”
YES.
“Ndlulamitsi, Swazi, and Umoya are all due in 2010.”
Aha, so my earlier guesses that Swazi was gay, or she’s just not that into Mabhulane, or whatever were wrong.
“Since Musi is not related genetically to the young female calves, will he be kept at the WAP for future breeding?”
How is he not genetically related to them? Don’t they all have the same father?
“Jeff Andrews, Elephant Care Manager, responds: Yes, from a genetic standpoint Musi can breed any of the females other than his mother. But not if Mabu has anything to say about it!”
So even if he wasn’t genetically related to, say, Phakamile they still wouldn’t like each other that way, the same way adoptive siblings still feel like siblings instead of potential sex partners, right?
Moderator’s note: Musi is not Mabu’s son; his mother was already pregnant when she arrived at the Wild Animal Park.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you for answering all our questions!!!
One note, NZP trains their elephants to lie down for a daily bath, and they actually turn over from one side to the other. They also get them to lie down outside during their daily training session for visitors to watch. So, it is obvious that lying down for a few hours at a time is perfectly safe and natural thing for elephants to do.
I am so excited at the pregnancy news! Mabu sure has been a busy bull!!! Is Swazi Musi’s mother, or has she not had a calf at WAP yet? I don’t recall her having a calf when the others were born. It is great to have Musi in the genetic mix because other than his mother, he doesn’t have the same genes. All the more reason he may get to stay and one of the other males may go somewhere else in 7 or 8 years. At the birthrate you are experiencing, you will need all the room in both African and Asian elephant areas at WAP. Is one of them being kept separate for potential separation needs in the future? I recall that when the Asian elephants were moved to Elephant Odyssey, a note was included that sometime in the future a passageway between the two formerly separate areas would be built to allow the herd more room to roam. One of the things I love most about WAP is the wide open areas for the animals to live as close to normal an existance as possible. I know of no other captive environment where the animal enclosures are so spacious and natural, outside of maybe some refuges in Africa and Asia.
Moderator’s note: Musi’ mother is Ndula. Swazi is expecting her first calf in 2010. Access for the elephants from the African exhibit to the “old” Asian elephant exhibit should be ready by the end of the year.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
“Moderator’s note: Musi is not Mabu’s son; his mother was already pregnant when she arrived at the Wild Animal Park.”
Thanks for clearing that up! Also, I misread Jeff’s comment earlier and got “But not if Musi has anything to say about it!” out of it.
Now I’m curious, did you know about Ndulamitsi’s pregnancy shortly after you got her, or was Vus’musi more of a surprise? Eden Ostrich World in Cumbria, England got a Shetland pony in 2000 and had no idea she was pregnant until one day months later they found a half-zebra filly in her paddock.
Jeff Andrews, elephant care manager, responds: We knew of Ndlula’s pregnancy six months before she left Africa, so Musi was no surprise. In fact, he was born only three days after our predicted birth date.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I think Musi’s father is now dead, I remember reading something about him being killed because he killed some rhinos or something like that? Also, thank you so much for the info on the pregnancies, the Zoochat communtity has been trying to figure out who was pregnant for months
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
“Jeff Andrews, elephant care manager, responds: We knew of Ndlula’s pregnancy six months before she left Africa, so Musi was no surprise. In fact, he was born only three days after our predicted birth date.”
So you got to know the herd for a long time before moving them here? Cool! Did they get a chance to know you too before the move, or would that have interfered with capturing them, or soemthing else?
July 15th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
If anyone would like to see a video of asian elephants lying down to sleep, go to youtube and type in:
Lower your Blood Pressure-Watch Gypsy and Wanda Sleeping
Pretty amazing how these large elephants can manage to lower themselves to the ground and then get back up again so gracefully! Hopefully and with any luck, maybe someone at the Zoo or Wild Animal Park could capture some of our San Diegan elephants taking a catnap on video and post it on this web site!
Sweet dreams!
July 16th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
“If anyone would like to see a video of asian elephants lying down to sleep, go to youtube and type in:
Lower your Blood Pressure-Watch Gypsy and Wanda Sleeping”
Thanks for the tip! It really is very calming, not only seeing the elephants napping so peacefully on soft grass in a safe place but also hearing the birds sing too.
Anyone know if lullabies work for elephants too?
July 20th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Found another great video of elephants taking a dip in a pond on youtube title:
I’ve been watching on the web cam and they sure have fun esp. the little ones including Ingadze!
Dulary & Misty’s First Swim
With any luck I can capture some myself with our locals at the Zoo or Park
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Hi, Emily.
Really enjoyed our moments of conversation today. Your information about elephant sleeping and the tracking of the elephants at night is very interesting. Wish you all kinds of luck on your next adventure and hope you take the DVD’s with you so you can be reminded of some of the fun things you have been doing here at the Wild Animal Park.