My favorite time to be with the African elephant herd at the Wild Animal Park is in the early morning. A few days each week, I sit at the Elephant Overlook between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning and record the social interactions in the herd. This is a great time to look for social behavior because it is before the elephant keepers and the guests arrive, so the elephants are busy interacting with each other rather than with humans. The herd also tends to be very active in the early morning and oftentimes I find they are wandering the yard, trunk wrestling or even swimming in the pool!
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As you all know by now, we have had a very busy couple of weeks here at the San Diego Zoo. With Elephant Odyssey opening, we have been busy with blogs, tours, media, and opening celebrations (see previous post, Elephant Odyssey is OPEN!). I have been kept busy, too, with all of the things that have been going on, but I wanted to take a moment to let our blog readers in on some amazing facts about Elephant Odyssey.
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After an amazingly busy seven days last week talking to radio stations and television news crews and answering countless questions about Elephant Odyssey at the San Diego Zoo, IT IS OPEN!

Friday morning we hosted an official “unveiling” for our distinguished guests and donors. With everyone looking on, the curtain was pulled to reveal the unmatched view across Mammoth Plaza and on into the rest of Elephant Odyssey. Shortly after the curtain was opened, Ranchipur and the rest of the elephants made their way across the open exhibit to see what all the fanfare was about.
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How does one write about moving elephants you’ve taken care of from a home they have known for over 25 years and one that I have worked in for almost 18 years? There are so many cliches that fit this situation, but none of them feels right.

On Thursday, May 7, the elephant keepers for the Zoo started work at 5 a.m. We did our normal routine that we have been doing for years. We put the girls in their barn and cleaned their yard. We readied their crates, and at around 6 a.m. we started to load them. By 6:45 they were all secure in their crates and the cranes were called to lift them onto their trucks for the quick trip to Elephant Odyssey.
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Rick is sharing his adventures in Africa with staff from our conservation partner, Elephants Without Borders. Read his previous post, Botswana: Chobe River.

May 9, 2009 (Saturday)

Yesterday, Friday, we did our last bit of filming and said our goodbyes to Chobe National Park. After we got the shots we needed, Shea Johnson, the San Diego Zoo’s videographer, and I had a great time just watching several herds of elephants come down to the river from the surrounding area. I’d have to say one of my favorite things to watch was the littlest babies rolling and playing in the mud. It was also very interesting to watch the mothers, aunts, and older siblings stand protectively around and over the youngsters while they played.
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Rick is sharing his adventures in Africa with staff from our conservation partner, Elephants Without Borders. Read his previous post, Botswana: Lions.

May 7, 2009 (Thursday)

In the morning we met up with Dr. Mike Chase and Kelly Landen to do some interviews with them about Elephants Without Borders (EWB). It was a beautiful morning, so we decided to do the interviews along the shore of the Chobe River near the offices of EWB.
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Rick is currently in Africa to see elephants. Read his previous blog, Botswana: Still Tracking Elephants.

May 6, 2009 (Wednesday)

Today we woke up before sunrise to gather some gear and head out to see if we could find the lions we had been hearing the night before. The air was cool and thick with moisture, dew had settled across the Chobe National Park, and it was just a gorgeous scene as we drove away from camp in the early twilight. Many bird species were starting in with their morning calls and scattered groups of impala were grazing along the way.
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Rick is currently in Africa to see elephants. Read his previous blog, Botswana: Tracking Elephants.

May 5, 2009 (Tuesday afternoon)

After lunch, we headed back the way we came, checking a side trail off of the firebreak trail for elephants, but still no luck and no sign of the elephants we were looking for. We turned back toward the river, some 60 miles (100 kilometers) away and decided we would meet up with the river at the point where the Chobe National Park starts and then drive in to the park from there.
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Rick is currently in Africa to see elephants. Read his previous blog, Botswana: Adventures Begin!

May 5, 2009 (Tuesday morning)

At this point I have lost track of the days and time is measured only by the sun coming up or going down. I love it. Every adventure thus far has all blurred together into one remarkable experience, and today has simply doubled the awe and amazement I have for Chobe National Park.
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Rick is in Africa to see elephants. Read his previous post, Botswana.

May 4, 2009 (Monday)

You may remember from my previous post when I mentioned the lightning and thunder off to the south of us. Well, by dinner time that huge lightning and thunderstorm was right above us. As the wind blew in and the rain started to fall, we ran for our tents, dinner in hand. I can not recall the last time I was in a tent during a massive all-night lightning and thunder storm. Though I did not get much sleep, it was an amazing experience that was wonderful to have.
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