Elephant Calf Talks the Talk
Posted at 12:13 pm September 28, 2009 by Heather Rogers
The next time you visit the Wild Animal Park, make sure to head to the Elephant Overlook first thing in the morning. Chances are you will hear a whole lot of trumpeting going on. You may be wondering who is making such a racket so early in the morning? Well, it is our very own African elephant calf, Ingadze. At 5.5 months of age, he is testing out his vocal chords and making sure everyone knows he is here! He is growing up fast and learning how to talk the talk and walk the walk of an African elephant.
In the morning when the keepers are busy cleaning and setting up the yards, Ingadze can be seen running back and forth along the fence line and heard trumpeting as if he is trying to get the keepers’ attention. Well, that tactic usually works! The keepers will run along the fence line mimicking Ingadze, and boy, does he seem to love all of the attention. He will flare his ears, spin around, and kick out his feet. He has also started working on his “whirly bird” or “helicopter” trunk technique. Sometimes he gets so fired up that he ends up tripping over his own feet.
Just recently, Ingadze has started eating solid food. During training sessions, when mom Umngani and big sister Khosi, are being fed alfalfa pellets, Ingadze gets right in there with them. He often times will stick his trunk in Umngani’s mouth or Khosi’s mouth to see what they are eating. His keepers have started offering him alfalfa pellets as well as various types of browse, which he eagerly takes and puts into his mouth. When the keepers are tossing out alfalfa pellets into the yard, Ingadze can be seen following the pellet trail and picking them up to eat, just like the rest of the herd.
At 256 kilograms (563 pounds!), Ingadze is growing up fast. So, make sure and stop by the next time you visit the Wild Animal Park. Chances are, spending a bit of time at the Elephant Overlook to watch Ingadze and the rest of his family will put a smile on your face!
Heather Rogers is a keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
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September 28th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Thank you Heather for the update. I visit the ellies at least once a week and I could sit all day watching them. You and all the other keepers are much appreciated.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
How adorable! Thank you for the update on Ingadze’s progress.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
That is so cute- that’s hes trying to take “charge”! What a cutie!
September 28th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
So cute — makes me want to have a baby elephant running around in my yard. ;~)
September 28th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
oh Heather that is a cute blog!!! maybe a video will be put up ? Is that mean no milk from mama ? thanks for the uplifting story..I love them !
Moderator’s note: Ingadze still nurses. He gets the best of both worlds!
September 28th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Oh yes! Spending some time watching Ingadze, Khosi, and the whole herd does bring a huge smile on everyone’s face. During my last visit, I think I shot about 50 photos and I wasn’t the only one. Now I see Ingadze and family on my desktop or my screensaver every day. But it sounds like I’d better get back there soon as Ingadze seems to be growing and growing! Thanks for the update. The WAP African Elephants are quite special, indeed.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Oh — what a cute pie — and so smart!! Thank you for the update on the littlest elephant — he certainly is a winner!
September 28th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
He’s adowable!!!
September 28th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Thank you very much for the update. Since I heard about the Elephant Cam, I check it several times hourly and want you and your volunteer cam people to know how much your attention to the elephants is appreciated by someone who can’t make it to the Park very often. Over the last several weeks I’ve noticed that the person(s) on the cam on Mondays and Thursdays are particularly attentive to the movement of the elephants throughout the enclosure. Thank You!! I’m not yet able to identify some of the adults, but I’m new to this. Thanks again.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
That is great that the little guy is growing up and doing grown up tasks. Good to hear he is eating regular elephant food. I am sure he likes the change in taste. Thanks for all that you do for the elephants.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Awwww, thanx for the update on the little guy. I agree, makes you want to have one of your very own. =)
September 28th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
As a wild animal photographer, I have loved elephants for all of my 44 years on this earth..I have been laughed at and ridiculed numerous times as to why I hang so many photos of them in my house and as a youngster as to why I alway ran to the elephant exhibit first and would never want to leave. Visiting the WAP solidifies my resolve as to why I find them so facinating, beautiful and impressive. This park is incredible !!!
Additionally, I had always dreamed to visit Africa to photograph them in their natural environment because I had been so disappointed in the zoos of the Midwest (where I have lived) as they did not provide enough room for these majestic creatures where the animals seemed so bored with their concrete and small environment. Then I was exposed this year to the WAP where all my “elephant ” dreams became reality….There was no need to save money for Africa because to see these WAP elephants in an natural setting is beyond words. These elephants behave very natural and seem very comfortable being ambassadors for us to enjoy and appreciate them.
My main obession to visit the WAP was to photograph a bull elephant. (One of the most impressive mammal that walks our earth). I had never encountered the opportunity to photograph one, let alone see one live in person. All I can say is what a gift for me as an animal lover to visit a place like this. I think I shot over 230 photos in the two hours I stayed observing the elephants in the Elephant Overlook. Then as another special gift I get to see a baby African Elephant…What an experience…
I want to the those who work and dedicate themselves to the WAP because your efforts have created a special place for those of us who love animals and especially for those of us who love elephants. Without your effort these ambassadors would not be here for us to see…
September 28th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
“In the morning when the keepers are busy cleaning and setting up the yards, Ingadze can be seen running back and forth along the fence line and heard trumpeting as if he is trying to get the keepers’ attention. Well, that tactic usually works! The keepers will run along the fence line mimicking Ingadze, and boy, does he seem to love all of the attention.”
Aww!
“He will flare his ears, spin around, and kick out his feet. He has also started working on his “whirly bird” or “helicopter” trunk technique.”
How does the helicopter technique work, anyway? Do the calves who do this spin their bodies around with their trunks out, or does the motion of one’s trunk form a circle in front of his or her face (like the propeller on an old-fashioned airplane), or something else?
“Moderator’s note: Ingadze still nurses. He gets the best of both worlds!”
Yeah, I expected that. Doesn’t *Vus’musi* still nurse too?
Speaking of babies, thanks again for the updates at http://www.sandiegozoo.org/elephantcam/meet.html . Two of those new bits of info, put together, made me curious:
“Though extremely powerful, Mabhu is also a very gentle father. He is so good with the babies: one day an infant Kami attempted to nurse from him and he froze, with ears flared, waiting for mother Moya to come to his rescue!”
“Being a junior acrobat isn’t the only thing she is known for: she is also the “class clown,” often swinging her trunk around like a helicopter.”
I wondered, was she *already* clowning around when she attempted to nurse from Mabhulane, or did she actually expect milk and not yet understand that this one particular adult wasn’t yet another auntie? No pressure on the moderators and keepers, I don’t expect an answer – because it seems like the only one who could answer this is Phakamile herself. Even with doting humans taking care of them and blogging all about it, elephants are still interestingly mysterious…
September 28th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Thanks for the update on the elephant herd! It made me chuckle reading about Ingadze tripping over his own feet! What an adorable cutie!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Can this be video taped? For those of us that live on the East Coast? How adorable! I would LOVE to get to see him playing the big boy games with the keepers! Is that normal for a baby or is it just because he is a baby Boy and will one day rule?
Moderator’s note: The best thing is to watch Elephant Cam whenever you can.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
With respect to the Moderator’s note in resonse to Tina in SC, I usually begin viewing the Elephant Cam at 8 am every day and check it frequently each hour. In my viewing experience (admittedly, only six weeks or so), I usually see the full enclosure at that time and, as 9 am approaches, I see the keepers in the field raking, cleaning up, etc., but not the area around the pens where the elephants are during this time. So my first glimpse of the elephants is actually when they start to move out into the field, after clean up. It would be great if the camera were pointed occasionally to the pens rather than to the field during clean up. I’m not complaining — the full enclosure looks sublime in the morning hours and gives me several Zen moments throughout my morning work hours. It would be wonderful, however, to see the elephants occasionally during this time.
Moderator’s note: Your request has been forwarded to our volunteer Cam operator crew.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Thank you for this bnlog, how cute!
Just a question, since Khosi was only born 3 years ago, Doe’s that mean that both Khosi AND Ingadze nurse from Umgani?
I know Vus’Musi just stopped nursing from Ndlula this sping, so maybe Khosi still is?
September 29th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Thanks Heather for the update. He sounds like quite a guy. He has personality like his big sister, and his half brother and sister. It is a riot to watch all the calves playing.
Does Muzi spend as much time with the younger calves now that he is getting about the age that Kandula at NZP started to separate himself from his mother and Ambica?
September 29th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Great blog Heather – nicely done!
September 29th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
You all have to see this adorable video of Ingadze splashing in a little pool that the keepers dug for him. Oh my goodness it is sooooo cute!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrRb18GYeoo
September 29th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
“Does Muzi spend as much time with the younger calves now that he is getting about the age that Kandula at NZP started to separate himself from his mother and Ambica?”
Good question. Now I wonder what zoos do for adolescent bulls at the age when they would be in bachelor herds in the wild. Meanwhile, how do Vus’musi and Mabhulane get along?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Thanks for the blog! I’ll be sure to share it with my family
Maybe we’ll go and visit the little elephant someday…but by then I don’t think he’ll be so small anymore. Well, thanks anyways and take care!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
About time we had a new update about Ingadze! Looks like he has done some growing and has hit another milestone in starting to eat solid food. I’ve watched him on the ellie cam off and on, and Gadze has a lot of spunk, and he’s fun to watch on the cam especially when he’s in the big pool! Just saw the pic of Gadze and his mom, and he is still a very small calf compared to her huge size. He still has a huge amount of growing up to do yet!
Keep us updated about Gadze and let us know how the 3 pregnant ellie moms are doing.
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
October 1st, 2009 at 8:21 am
I’m watching the elephant cam now (Thursday morning 8:20 am PDT) and want to thank the volunteer very, very much — the view is outstanding! Oh, my . . . in case you ever wondered, you have an audience that appreciates your work enormously!
Moderator’s note: I’ll pass along the compliment to our volunteer Cam crew.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:45 am
Re item 24. My wife ane I were watching at the same time as Carlin. The camera work was fabulous and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:27 am
Mr. Stillwell, I heard about the elephant cam from you and your wife several weeks ago when we met on the bench near the elephant enclosure. At that time, you gave me a wonderful DVD of the elephants in the pool. I haven’t had an opportunity to thank you again — but the thanks now are also for letting me know about the cam. Thank you very much! You are helping to spread the word about the wonderful work being done at Wild Animal Park by the trainers, keepers, and volunteers.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Awesome blog, Heather! I can just see “little” Ingadze flaring his ears, tripping over his trunk, and trying to get your attention! I can’t believe he’s 5.5 months already!
Keep up the good work! I didn’t know you were a writer!
October 4th, 2009 at 6:41 am
What will happen to Ingadze as he grows up? Will he be able to stay with his group as he would in the wild?
Moderator’s note: That’s a long time away, Meg. He won’t be mature for 8 or 9 years. Until then, he’ll stay with his mother’s herd as he would in the wild.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I have been in love with this little fellow since he was born. I love the updates, chronicling his growth and experiences with his family and herd.
I plan to be in San Diego to visit the zoo in December. You can just bet seeing little Ingadze is high on my list of musts.
Thank you, Heather, for helping us keep with him from afar.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Just so everyone knows, SDWAP recieved a new bull elephant last saturday named “Msholo” from Lowry Park Zoo. He will be placed in the former asian elephant habitat with a couple of the females and there offspring
October 12th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
It would be great to have an update from Wild Animal Park on the presence of a new bull . . . especially having heard earlier this year from an education department tour guide that plans were being made to keep Mabu at the Park permanently and not transfer him to another zoo.
Also, please pass on to today’s volunteer cam operator — Great Job!!
Moderator’s note: We’ll gladly trumpet your comment to the cam operator. We’re working on getting a blog from the Wild Animal Park elephant keepers–stay tuned!
October 13th, 2009 at 9:25 am
“Just so everyone knows, SDWAP recieved a new bull elephant last saturday named “Msholo” from Lowry Park Zoo.”
There’s more info here:
http://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoZoo?v=feed&story_fbid=140964894022&ref=mf
“The African elephant herd at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park got 7,800 pounds heavier today – a new male named Msholo arrived from Lowry Park Zoo! He will gradually be introduced to some of the Park’s females to form a second breeding group. And he’ll probably be a familiar face – he was part of the same group of elephants saved from culling in Swaziland, Africa, as the Park’s current herd. Welcome Msholo!”
That was a group of 11 elephants, 7 of whom went to the WAP and 4 of whom went to Lowry Park.
Meanwhile, will the two breeding groups be kept separate (to prevent the possibility of conflict between Mabhulane and Msholo) or together (to neither separate any female adult from any of her friends in the herd nor separate any calf from any of his or her aunties) or some middle ground that manages to keep the male adults apart but let everyone else go to and fro?
Moderator’s note: We hope to have a blog post about our newest elephant some time this week.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Sorry, I shoulda been clearer that I don’t expect answers to any of my questions about Msholo immediately! I just hope there’s some way to connect the two areas so that the two herds can be together like a congregation of elephant herds in the wild, instead of breaking up any of the bonds that would stay together naturally. For example, like Meg says,
“What will happen to Ingadze as he grows up? Will he be able to stay with his group as he would in the wild?
“Moderator’s note: That’s a long time away, Meg. He won’t be mature for 8 or 9 years. Until then, he’ll stay with his mother’s herd as he would in the wild.”
Even though Ingadze and Khosi will stay with Umngani, if they are separated from some of the other female adults and calves and Mabhulane then Ingadze will be separated a lot earlier than 8 or 9 years old from a big chunk of what is now his mother’s herd…
OTOH, if the two herds are kept wholly separate then does that mean you can keep all the male calves when they grow up, and just move a big boy from his mother’s herd to your other WAP herd when it’s his time? Or would that still risk too much inbreeding?
October 13th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Here is how I think it could work
- Keep Mabu in the current exhibit
- Keep Msholo in the former asian elephant exhibit
- Rotate the females and calves beetween Msholo & Mabu every 24-48 hours
October 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
First, I’m watching Elephant Cam and there are 3 elephants flapping their ears around the corrall right now, 2 outside it and closer to the camera and 1 outside it on the far side from the camera (is he Msholo in the new-to-the-zoo quarantine period?).
“Here is how I think it could work
“- Keep Mabu in the current exhibit
“- Keep Msholo in the former asian elephant exhibit”
These are in the current plans, right?
“- Rotate the females and calves beetween Msholo & Mabu every 24-48 hours”
That could be pretty hard on the zookeepers who are already very busy, and can’t easily lead the elephants around (it’s a protected-contact system)!
Hmm…how to modify this so it would work more smoothly…what if there were at least a big howdy gate between the two exhibit areas (is that easily feasible or would this require first adding some land between the two exhibits to one or both of them?) and a hole in the howdy gate that’s too small for the bulls to walk through but still big enough for the female adults and the calves (so they can “rotate” themselves as they wish)? Would that work, or would Mabhulane and/or Msholo figure out how to crawl through anyway? I don’t know, but it’s interesting food for thought!
October 14th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
What happens to the elephants at night?? Locked up……….chained?? or do they have FREE ACCESS TO A BARN IF THEY WANT TO….
Moderator’s note: They have free access to the barn and yard at night. We do not chain our elephants.
October 14th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I don ‘t think it would be much of a probelm. The elephants are all ready shifted through areas and so it would just be like any other time
The two exhibits are planned to be connected (through a gate, so it would provide flexibility)
October 16th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I just saw a deer on the webcam!
October 16th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
OK, now it’s 2 deer and 3 elephants and everyone’s pretty chill about it.
Before today I knew about the deer but hadn’t seen one on the webcam for myself.
October 18th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Just now one of the adult elephants was looking at that pile of sticks near a big log and the fence. An adult deer passed by, leading 3 fawns. 1 of the fawns lagged behind for a while to gaze at the elephant, then caught up with the grownup. Thanks for the close-up view, camera operators!
After they all left, two calves suddenly came into view wrestling with each other’s trunks, then they left along the fence. Aww.
Then all 5 kids came back, and the calves ignored the fawns to focus on each other. 1 of the calves even reared up a bit and looked over the fence.
Then an adult, or maybe Vus’musi, showed up across the foreground.
Oh, now one of the calves is chasing an adult deer and fawn.
Also, now I have a question about the fence, for whenever someone can answer it (no pressure!). Why is the wired part tilted inward, not outward? Wouldn’t tilting it outward make it even harder for trespassers to climb in?
- Mark, 6:25 pm California time
Moderator’s note: Sounds like you enjoyed quite a show this evening! The wired fence is titled inward to keep curious elephant trunks from reaching too far outside of the exhibit.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:13 am
“Moderator’s note: Sounds like you enjoyed quite a show this evening!”
I sure did!
By any chance is the video from the webcam also recorded (like the way security camera footage can be re-viewed later)? If so, I’d recommend that you and the zoo staff (whenever they have time) rewind and check out that half-hour, maybe put it online, etc.
“The wired fence is titled inward to keep curious elephant trunks from reaching too far outside of the exhibit.”
Wow, you answered my question about the fence far more quickly than I expected! I had thought the fence was more about keeping out than about keeping in. On second thought, I should have realized that if even a calf can rear up and look across, of course they can get their trunks through those big gaps between wires!
Also, right now I see one of the elephants with shorter tusks eating hay. Do your elephants ever moisten or flavor their hay like I read some elephants in other zoos do (moistening hay with a shower installed so the elephants can turn the switches, flavoring it by delicately stomping a fruit and then rubbing the fruit to get juice on the hay)? Jonathan Balcombe’s zoology book Pleasurable Kingdom has the details.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I was wondering how Msholo is doing during his quarantine. Whenever I am at the WAP, I see him in the small yard. Is he ever let out to the large yard?
October 22nd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Elephant cam today is outstanding, again! So close — I can identify each adult elephant. Thank you!
October 29th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Ingadze was lying on the ground with Umgani, Khosi, Punga, Kami and several other elephants standing around seemingly to provide shade for Ingadze. The camera was in a reasonably tight shot when Umgani, Khosi, and others started to move away fairly rapidly. What happened? Is Ingadze okay?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I can count 4 little elephants at the other end of the field now so Ingadze has to be okay. The camera moved away from the crowd at one end to follow others as they were leaving the area and until the shot at the other end of the field where I was 4 little elephants did I realize he must have gotten up and followed the crowd. Guess they were really just providing shade for the little guy while he was taking a nap. A big sigh of relief.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Deer Keepers,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful work you do. I don’t know how you have time to write these blogs with all of the other tasks you have but we do appreciate it. When I am on the elephant overlook you all are so busy and do a great job at taking care of the animals and providing such a wonderful experience for us as well.
Thanks again!!!
November 13th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Was at the park last Sunday and heard an educator/tour guide say there are four females who are pregnant. I thought three (Swazi, Moya, and Ndula) . . . is there another recent pregnancy?
Moderator’s note: We have three confirmed pregnancies.