蜜柚直播

Reid Park Zoo's pachyderm princess entered the world on Wednesday night to fanfare from her herd.

When 24-year-old African elephant Semba gave birth at 10:55 p.m. in a pen outside of her barn, adult female Lungile and the calf鈥檚 7-year-old brother Punga watched from an adjacent paddock. Sundzu, now the 3-year-old middle child, was with mom for the arrival of his sister, said Vivian VanPeenen, the zoo's education curator.

鈥淭hey could see the birth and were smelling and trumpeting and reaching through and caressing the baby,鈥� VanPeenen said. 鈥淚t was lovely. They were very interested in what was happening.鈥�

After almost two years of pregnancy, on 蜜柚直播's 239th birthday, Semba delivered a little miracle 鈥� no, not a flying elephant 鈥� but the first elephant calf born in Reid Park Zoo and the state of 蜜柚直播, VanPeenen said.聽

The calf's father is the zoo's bull Mabu, who also fathered Punga and Sundzu. The baby joins the three males, her mother and another adult female, Lungile. The herd moved聽from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park聽to the renovated Expedition Tanzania habitat in 2012.

A name for the bundle of joy will come after zookeepers have spent several days getting to know her. The rest of the herd have names reflecting their African heritage.

鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e calling her, 鈥楽he鈥檚 here! The baby! The calf!鈥� 鈥� VanPeenen said.

For the next 48 to 72 hours, keepers are giving mom and baby space to bond in the Click Family Elephant Care Center. Only essential staff have access.

On Thursday, the calf weighed in at 245 pounds. Typically, elephant calves weigh between 200 and 250 pounds.

Both mother and daughter appear healthy. Mom is eating, drinking and, well, taking care of business, and baby is nursing, though she is still trying to figure out the finer points.

鈥淚t takes a calf a while to figure out where to nurse,鈥� VanPeenen said. 鈥淪he nursed within the hour. She walks up to mom and fumbles. 鈥楧o I nurse here or there?鈥� But she鈥檚 doing great.鈥�

Earlier on Wednesday, Semba spent time on exhibit with the rest of the herd, chowing down but moving slowly. At about 10:35 p.m., this pregnancy pro began demonstrating signs of active labor 鈥� stretching, walking backward, laying down and extending her tail. Twenty minutes later, with no human help, the zoo welcomed 厂别尘产补鈥檚 third little one, who stood up within minutes.

The gender of the calf was unknown until her birth, but there was some girl talk. At a baby shower in June, both a Plinko-style game played by guests and Mabu's pick of a pink stick instead of a blue one predicted a girl.聽

There will be another celebration when the calf goes on exhibit for the public, which could be in roughly two weeks.聽That depends on the strength and health of calf and mother, VanPeenen said.聽

In future days, keepers will give the two elephants additional space in a behind-the-scenes area and eventually introduce the rest of the herd.聽

For Sundzu, who VanPeenen calls, 鈥渁 bit of a mama鈥檚 boy,鈥� zoo staff have gradually increased his time away from mom to help him adjust to his new role as big brother, and he recently gave up nursing. Young, male elephants typically stay with mom for eight to 15 years, and females never leave.

The zoo plans to keep mother and daughter together, and there are still several years before Punga and Sundzu begin showing bachelor-pad-worthy tendencies that make them suitable for mating at other zoos.

The Expedition Tanzania habitat was built to support breeding elephants. The three adult elephants were rescued in the wild from culling in Swaziland and were transported to San Diego in 2003.聽

鈥淲e are doing this for the future of elephant population and conservation worldwide,鈥� VanPeenen said. 鈥淲e are thrilled to have one more baby elephant in the world instead of one less.鈥�

Meet Nandi.

The Caliente poll brought in 7,880 votes by noon Tuesday, with 65 percent of those votes for Nandi and 35 percent for Imvula.

Nandi (Nahn-dee), which is a common siSwati name for girls and means 鈥渟weet鈥� or 鈥渇un鈥� in the Zulu language beat Imvula (im-VOO-lah), with the nickname Immie, meaning 鈥渞ain鈥� in siSwati to honor her monsoon-season birth.

Elephant keepers who have spent the most time with her say the name suits her, though some were Team Imvula.

This 300-plus pound baby has a heavy load to carry. She鈥檚 the first female among two brothers, the first elephant born at the Reid Park Zoo, and the first elephant born in the state of 蜜柚直播.

鈥淓ven as a child, I loved elephants, and I am so thrilled that we now have a beautiful baby girl elephant here in 蜜柚直播. ..鈥� says Green Valley reader Ann Gillingham in an email after voting for Nandi. 鈥淭hat is why it was so worthwhile to have the opportunity to help choose her name, something that I have never been able to do before.鈥�

Eugene Schiffert, a retired postal worker, says in an email that the baby looks like a 鈥淣andi鈥� and that 鈥渆very cute baby needs a name.鈥�

Her naming is one of many milestones. First steps, snacks and baths 鈥� all of it is special for a new baby. And when you鈥檙e a petite pachyderm that trots through the zoo and into our hearts, we want to know about that first mud wallow, too.

Good thing she鈥檚 strong, healthy and ready to delight. Here are just a few of this baby鈥檚 firsts.

Water

For little Nandi, every puddle is mud-wallow worthy.

Rainy days mean Slip 鈥楴 Slides, and when it gets too wet, Mom makes the perfect umbrella.

鈥淚鈥檝e never cared about weather so much until caring for these elephants,鈥� says Sue Tygielski, the zoo鈥檚 elephant manager. 鈥淚s it too puddly? Is it too chilly? You worry about them slipping, but that is her favorite thing to do. She runs into the wet grass and slides into it. I don鈥檛 know why I鈥檓 so worried about her.鈥�

Her first shower about two days after birth sent her four legs sprawling in opposite directions on the wet concrete 鈥渓ike a dog on ice,鈥� Tygielski says.

This baby loves water.

鈥淎ny time there is a puddle or she is by the drinking trough, her mom will splash the water on them to cool down, and she just dives into it and kneels down and rolls over,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e given her tiny tubs of water, and she tries to climb in.鈥�

Food

Now about 1 month old, Nandi keeps her keepers on the go. If she sleeps longer than 30 minutes, her mom Semba wakes her up to nurse. She nurses for about one hour and 30 minutes each day, in intervals.

Nutrition will come solely from nursing for about six months, and she will continue to nurse long after that, but sticks and leaves are still fair game for any curious baby鈥檚 mouth.

In the last week, she has started toting sticks around the exhibit with her trunk, often hustling to keep up with Mom.

Family time

She still spends most of her time following Semba but shares the love with the rest of her herd.

When she and 12,000-pound Mabu took their first father-daughter mud wallow several days after her birth, he watched carefully for her underfoot.

When she tried to nurse from her 鈥淎untie鈥� Lungile, the unrelated elephant waited patiently while she explored.

And then there are her brothers.

Punga, her oldest brother, treats her with respect. Tygielski says it鈥檚 those seasoned, big-brother instincts kicking in. Sundzu, bumped from baby to middle child, is more of a rascal toward his sister as he adapts to sharing Mom.

鈥淪undzu, the first day that she was out with him, he looked at Mom and Aunt and nobody was watching, and he pushed his sister over,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚t was so clear and thought out. He tried it a few days later, and Mom reprimanded him and smacked him with her trunk.鈥�

But like any good, little sister, Nandi can dish it back out.

鈥淪he will hang on her brothers and run around them and grab their tails,鈥� Tygielski says. She especially enjoys tugging on the hairs, or tassels, at the end of each tail. 鈥淪he likes to play with Mom鈥檚 tail a lot. Mom has long tassels, so she will grab them like a little kid grabbing Mom鈥檚 skirt.鈥�

Following Mom

On her first day of life, Semba had to rescue Nandi from a corner 鈥� she didn鈥檛 know how to back up 鈥� and though she now runs and romps, she isn鈥檛 beyond the occasional face plant and general silliness.

While most elephants put sand, sticks and hay on their backs to keep cool, Semba likes a little extra headcover 鈥� a style she is passing on to her daughter.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a little traveling meal,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he puts hay on (the baby鈥檚 head) and then takes it back and eats it.鈥�

Keepers reward Semba with treats for letting them touch the baby through a protective barrier for physical inspections. Nandi cooperates. Sometimes.

A mind 鈥� and toy 鈥� of her own

As her days increase, so does her confidence.

鈥淪he is now starting to flare her ears and hold her head up high and charge,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 starting to do that farther and farther away from Mom.鈥�

But for a while, sticking close to Semba brings unexpected joys.

About three weeks ago, keepers gave Semba an adult elephant ball about the size of her daughter. Nandi had other ideas.

鈥淪o much of her environment, everything is new, so we haven鈥檛 felt the need to throw other things in鈥︹�� Tygielski says. 鈥淭he ball was for Mom, and she and Mom were together, and Mom was rolling it to get treats. Baby took the ball away and ran off with it.鈥�

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her one-year birthday on Aug. 20, 2015, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, the Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Two months as of Monday.

Weight: A little more than 400 pounds. She gains three to four pounds every day and weighed 245 pounds at birth.

One of the herd: 鈥淪he is playing more with her brothers and some of that is Mom letting them, because they are being gentle and good. They splash each other in the mud wallow, and she runs up to them and charges them and touches them with her trunk. They push her a little bit, and it鈥檚 gentle wrestling.鈥�

What鈥檚 new: She still loves water and now uses her front teeth to dig in wet areas of sand. 鈥淢om will put water from the stream on the ground, and she鈥檒l play in it and make her own little puddle. She is becoming very skilled at taking small drinks of water with her trunk,鈥� Tygielski says. Nandi is also learning to hoist herself over logs, front feet first, but sometimes still needs a push from Mom, 鈥渓ike a parent helping a kid on the playground.鈥�

Read more about Nandi at

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her 1-year birthday on Aug. 20, 锘� we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, the elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Three months today.

Weight: 465 pounds when we talked with Tygielski last week, but she guessed Nandi would gain about 10 more pounds by today.

First shot: Last Thursday, Nandi got her first shot 鈥� tetanus 鈥� and as seems to be the norm with this pretty pachyderm, she took it like a pro. 鈥淪he was perfect,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he got it, and I was expecting her to cry out, and her mom to be upset, but she didn鈥檛 make a squeak.鈥�

40,000 muscles: Nandi is still figuring out how to manage the 40,000 muscles in her trunk, which 鈥渇lops all over the place,鈥� Tygielski says. Nandi now uses her trunk to pick up and put in her mouth things such as hay, leaves and pellets 鈥� but not for eating. 鈥淪he will pick up pellets off of our hands with her trunk, but won鈥檛 let us put them in her trunk. She can鈥檛 hold her trunk still yet. She is getting more skillful at grabbing things.鈥�

Hanging with Auntie Lungile: 鈥淪he spends more time with her aunt. She will trade off between Mom and Auntie, and I think Auntie really likes that. ... Nandi will follow her aunt and stay close to her like she would with a surrogate mom, like with a human aunt. Sometimes, they鈥檒l dust together.鈥� The practice of picking up dirt with her trunk without inhaling it and tossing it onto her back for sunscreen and fly protection is a new thing for Nandi. Tygielski calls it a sophisticated behavior.

Having a ball: 鈥淲e have these Boomer Balls, and they have small holes that you can put pellets inside, and the adults roll them around to get the pellets out. She will climb with her front two feet on it.鈥� Cute but sometimes clumsy, Nandi is not beyond the occasional tumble.

For more information on Nandi and to see her playing in a kiddie pool visit t

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, the Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Four months on Saturday.

Weight: 515 pounds last Thursday, but Tygielski suspected this big baby would gain about five pounds by today.

Getting in the groove: 鈥淢onths three and four are really similar,鈥� Tygielski says. Nandi spends more time these days playing with 3-year-old brother Sundzu and is still getting most of her nutrients from mom 厂别尘产补鈥檚 milk. Her face is getting more round and less wrinkly, Tygielski says, but mom is still a security blanket. After getting her second tetanus shot, Nandi hid under Semba.

Playful palate: 鈥淭he most exciting thing is she is eating big clumps of hay and is running to her trainers to take pellets out of their hands,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚 do think she is eating and swallowing. They are not a substantial portion of dietary intake, but she recognizes that (a trainer) has something that might be fun,鈥� she says. For Sundzu鈥檚 fourth birthday celebration on Dec. 27, the elephants will get their version of cake 鈥� frozen juice and water with apples and oranges inside.

In the past, when the herd has munched on ice pops, Nandi has just played with her treats. Tygielski hopes that come birthday weekend, she will actually eat some of the 鈥渃ake.鈥�

Copy cat: Nandi watches and follows, mimicking the other elephants even when she doesn鈥檛 exactly know why.

鈥淪he is starting to pick up branches,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淗er mom and brothers steal them from her because she doesn鈥檛 know she is supposed to eat them.鈥� Nandi has also taken to pushing logs around 鈥� with little to show for it. The older elephants roll the logs to expose bark to munch on. Still very much a baby, Nandi pushes at the logs, but they don鈥檛 budge.

鈥淟ittle Miss Coordinated鈥�: Her balance is improving, Tygielski says, giving Nandi that nickname. She likes climbing on the plastic balls where zoo staff hide pellets, and she no longer wipes out quite as much 鈥� though you might still see a tumble.

鈥淪he was running so fast to keep up with the other elephants, she tripped,鈥� Tygielski says of a recent fall that tickled visitors. Instead of standing immediately, Nandi continued moving forward on her front knees, hobbling after the others.

Sharing the love: She鈥檚 cute 鈥� ask anyone. BuzzFeed ranked Nandi as No. 34 in its list 鈥淭he 37 Cutest Baby Animal Photos of 2014,鈥� and Good Morning America recently showed a short clip of mother and daughter during a segment on an 鈥渆lephant mom鈥� style of parenting.

Read more about Nandi at

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her 1-year birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, the Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Five months on Tuesday, Jan. 20. The herd is planning something for Nandi鈥檚 6-month birthday in February, Tygielski says.

Weight: About 600 pounds.

Nandi鈥檚 first Christmas: The herd woke on Christmas morning to an exhibit covered in enrichment items. 鈥淪he had boxes wrapped with fruit inside, and she also had boxes that had beet pulp, which they like,鈥� Tygielski says. But instead of eating the goodies, Nandi took the typical, kid approach. 鈥淪he hadn鈥檛 had a lot of paper before that. It was her first experience ripping paper and waving it around like a giant flag. She had a lot of fun. She didn鈥檛 eat the contents like the other elephants. She just played with the box.鈥�

Nandi鈥檚 keepers also gave her a large, plastic cube that momentarily frightened her. 鈥淪he ran up to it and trumpeted and bumped into it with her head and stepped on it. She stood on it like, 鈥業鈥檓 going to smash this,鈥欌�� Tygielski says.

That white stuff: Unlike the rest of the city, Nandi took the weather in stride. The exhibit had more frost than snow on New Year鈥檚 Eve, Tygielski says. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 react to the fog ... For us, we call them, and they come across the exhibit, and they just appear. It was kind of spooky. You don鈥檛 hear their feet. They walk silently.鈥�

Independence: Nandi no longer needs Mom around 24/7, Tygielski says. Instead, she spends more time with other members of the herd, hanging out with Dad even when Semba is across the exhibit. 鈥淪he will stay in the barn and play while her mom goes out to exhibit. She wants to go into all the rooms in the barn, so it takes longer to get her out. It鈥檚 a pain in the butt, but it鈥檚 cute. She is becoming an explorer, more confident.鈥�

Milking it: Ninety percent of Nandi鈥檚 nutrition still comes from nursing, but she now nurses for longer amounts of time but less frequently. Hay and pellets have also become more usual munchies for the baby elephant. 鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 just play with them in her mouth,鈥� Tygielski says. The keepers use pellets to reward the elephants for responding, so until Nandi sees them as a treat, she has no incentive to recognize her name.

Slip and slide: 鈥淚n the mud I almost felt sorry for her,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚t was raining a few days in a row 鈥� The older elephants know to walk slow when it鈥檚 slippery, but she was trying to run in it. She fell almost six times, flopped in the mud and kept going. She had to slow down to get to the barn. Mom didn鈥檛 help her. She looked at her like, 鈥楩igure it out, kid.鈥欌��

For more information on Nandi visit

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, the Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Friday, Nandi hits a big one. Her 6-month birthday is Feb. 20. Festivities are in the works.

Weight: 655-ish pounds. About her chunkiness, Tygielski says, 鈥淚 think what鈥檚 unique about her is that she came out as a bigger baby and has continued to gain weight and is very, very healthy in terms of her weight and growth chart.鈥�

So about that name we all voted for: Maybe, just maybe, Nandi is starting to recognize her name. She now eats pellets more frequently and sticks by her keepers when doors open and close. 鈥淲e are starting to use her name more and more to call her over,鈥� Tygielski says in an email. 鈥淪he is also becoming less shy if multiple trainers try to work with her on brushing her ears back.鈥�

One person鈥檚 trash is Nandi鈥檚 treasure: 鈥淪he is still obsessing with paper bags,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淭oday, I sent her out of the barn, and she grabbed a paper bag and shook it around and stomped on it and slung it with her trunk. It was a big, white one with the pellets. I was thinking, 鈥楧on鈥檛 take that on exhibit. It looks like trash.鈥� She is more fascinated with paper than with elephant toys. She only gets it in the barn, so maybe that makes it special. She will stop whatever she鈥檚 doing and go stomp on it and play around.鈥�

Boys will be boys: Right now, Nandi is boring in the eyes of her brothers, Punga and Sundzu. They just want to roughhouse, and until Nandi gets older and can hold her own, there is no way Mom Semba is letting the boys push around her little princess. 鈥淭hey are just going on like big brothers do and not paying any attention to their sister,鈥� Tygielski says. Instead, Nandi is spending more time with Aunt Lungile.

She鈥檚 growing up so fast: Nandi is starting to move like a grown-up 鈥� sometimes. 鈥淓lephants look like they are gliding as they move, and at times, she does,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淏ut when she runs, she turns back into a floppy-footed youngster.鈥� Nandi also ventures into the mud wallow solo, though Mom still won鈥檛 let her near the pool. Nursing still provides most of her nutrients, but like a good big girl, she鈥檚 trying grown-up food, stuffing hay in her mouth, the essence of maturity 鈥� until it all falls out. 鈥淪he seems to be playing,鈥� Tygielski says.

What Tygielski has loved about these last six months: Watching Nandi grow. 鈥淚 think so many other animals take so long, and while she is very dependent on Mom for protection, she is getting so coordinated so quickly,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 delight in how much she recognizes people and seems excited to see us. That鈥檚 a little perk of this job.鈥�

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Seven months on Friday.

Weight: About 710 pounds. Remember when she weighed 245 pounds in August?

Party animal: For her 6-month birthday, Nandi got a taste of the good life. The zoo threw her two birthday parties, where she had a grand old time whacking 鈥減i帽atas.鈥� See a photo gallery at

鈥淪he loves smashing boxes and then walking and rolling on top of them,鈥� Tygielski says in an email.

A picky eater no more: Beyond nursing, Nandi is now munching on produce, hay and leaves.

New rules: 鈥淪he is starting formal training,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淭he expectation is that she cannot bolt onto exhibit from the barn without her trainer and her mom. If she runs out ahead of us, we have to wait for her to come back into the barn and then she and her mom go out together. Getting her to stay with her trainer is the beginning of teaching her other behaviors, but the first is that she has to stay with her trainer until the trainer says it鈥檚 OK to go. Hard when you鈥檙e little and impatient.鈥�

Taking a swim 鈥� or not: As the days warm up and other animals at the zoo get back to splashing, Nandi鈥檚 keepers want her to do some watery wandering. But mom Semba has other ideas. 鈥淣andi wanted to explore the pool ledge with her brothers, but Semba repeatedly used her foot to back Nandi away from the pool,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淲e recently cleaned it and want to try and get her in it so we can feel confident that she can swim (before we fill it full) 鈥� but Mom won鈥檛 let her near it.鈥� Tygielski says Nandi is a committed mud wallower, often diving in the dirt even when the other elephants have no interest.

鈥淗er new favorite thing to do is throw herself on top of a little dirt or sand hill and slide down.鈥�

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Eight months on Monday, April 20.

Weight: 775 pounds. Yep, she鈥檚 one big baby.

Little sis, big bro: The new pounds mean a new playmate. Nandi and her 4-year-old brother, Sundzu, have taken to palling around lately. 鈥淪he is now old enough to begin to wrestle a little, and Sundzu has started to seek her out to play,鈥� Tygielski says in an email. 鈥淭hey also end up in the wallow together playing.鈥� Nandi loves her some mud. While the younger sibs romp, 8-year-old Punga is trying out maturity and hanging with the adults, 鈥渓eaving Sundzu and Nandi to play uninterrupted,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he follows him around more than Punga 鈥� it鈥檚 really sweet.鈥�

Struggling to stay serious: 鈥淪he is learning to be more calm around trainers,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淲e are trying to spend time with her when she keeps all feet on the ground when she is near us. If she starts climbing the cable fence, we step away from her. We only approach her if she is calm. She seems to be understanding that criteria (maybe?).鈥� The next training step is increasing how long Nandi can keep cool with her trainers. It鈥檚 difficult for Nandi 鈥渘ot to climb and be silly,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淏ut for our safety and hers, we can only work with her when she is a little calm and focused.鈥�

Everybody into the pool: As summer approaches, the pool entices. In the last month, Nandi has taken a few swimming lessons. 鈥淗er first time in, Semba, her mom, got all the way in to the deep area,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淣andi waited on the shore, and when she decided to get in, she ran fast. What Nandi did not know is the pool is graduated and with flat areas and gradually gets deeper. She ran all the way out to the deep area and sunk. But a few seconds of waiting and her trunk came to the surface. She bounced around in the pool, surrounded by her mom and two brothers. Immediately after getting out of the pool after swimming for several minutes, she hit the dirt hill and covered her body in dirt, like her mom. Dirt protects from sun and insects.鈥�

For several days, Nandi kept her distance from the pool. Tygielski says her first swim may have left her 鈥渁 little startled.鈥� But with mom and brothers enjoying some pool time, Nandi gave it a second chance. 鈥淭his second time she really swam around and seemed to have a better sense of what the pool was about,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he truly looked like she was having fun.鈥�

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, 鈥榮 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Nine months 鈥� can you believe it? 鈥� Wednesday, May 20.

Weight: As Tygielski puts it, Nandi is now a 鈥渃hunker,鈥� weighing in at about 820 pounds.

Alas, a baby no more: 鈥淚 have to say, she is almost beyond the baby point,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he is starting to look like a kid.鈥� Sniff. Sniff. And on a more, er, biological note: 鈥淗er poop is starting to look more like an adult鈥檚,鈥� Tygielski says, which is a result of eating more hay and leaves.

Real training: With maturity comes training 鈥� and an increasing attention span. 鈥淪he stays with us and follows us for a whole session,鈥� Tygielski says. For Nandi鈥檚 new move, trainers instruct her to put her trunk on top of her head. She also recognizes her name and individual trainers 鈥� behaving better for some than others. 鈥淟ittle stinker,鈥� Tygielski adds.

Pampered pachyderm: Nandi has learned the joy of a massage. 鈥淪he loves to have her legs brushed like a horse,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he will stand there and stand there, and we鈥檒l be working with her mom, and it takes longer, and Nandi usually gets in the way. We can鈥檛 feed her the whole time, so now we will just brush her legs.鈥�

Afraid of the deep end: Nandi鈥檚 first swim might have scared her off 鈥� she and mom Semba stay far away from the water while the other elephants splash. Instead she wallows in the mud. As it gets hotter, the keepers will encourage another dip.

Duck tales: 鈥淪he is still climbing on balls a lot, but now she tries to stand on her hind legs and balance on them,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淭he other thing she just started doing is, like her brothers, she is chasing the ducks. Ducks will come (into the exhibit) and she has to chase them off. She will flair her ears and run after them with her head down. They fly away five feet and just stop and look at her like, 鈥榃hat are you doing?鈥� Once they are too far away from Mom, she鈥檒l stop.鈥�

Brotherly love: Nandi splits her time between her mom and brother Sundzu. 鈥淪he slips and falls, and you have to believe that some of it is purposeful to get her brothers to play with her,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 sweet for Sundzu to have a buddy ... He will lay on his stomach so he is at her level and wrestle with his trunk.鈥�

Queen of the hill: 鈥淔or Mother鈥檚 Day, Semba got all kinds of giant boxes covered in colored paper with hay and produce inside,鈥� Tygielski says. Nandi, paper lover that she is, ripped the paper off and took a lap. Though she is eating more tree leaves from boughs, she still enjoys parading with paper and branches. Tygielski adds, 鈥淪ometimes she鈥檒l run to the top of a sand hill and wave it like she is waving a flag.鈥�

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, Reid Park Zoo鈥榮 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: Another month gone. Nandi hits 10 months on Saturday.

Weight: 880 pounds.

The wallow: Nandi is out to become a world-class wallower. Sometimes, the love for mud even trumps the love for Mom.

鈥淪omething that has been kind of interesting is some of the herd will go swimming, Mom will go off eating on her own, and Nandi will go to the mud wallow by herself, on her own for a long time,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he goes in and swamps around a lot and gets mud on one side and kicks and flips over and will stand in the wallow, kicking. She really likes to kick. We put more water in the wallow as it鈥檚 getting hotter, and she just likes to splash.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a giant baby pool with some mud.鈥�

Still no pool?: As of last week, sadly no. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of a bummer,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淲e thought it would happen more, but there haven鈥檛 been that many 100-degree days.鈥�

Maybe it鈥檚 time to bring on the heat.

鈥淎s summer heats up, we鈥檙e hoping she is going to start enjoying the pool more.鈥� It鈥檚 a selfish hope, Tygielski admits, because if she鈥檚 that cute playing in the mud, just imagine this pachyderm paddling, snorkeling through the pool with her trunk aloft.

Tractor terrors: Don鈥檛 mess with this elephant. 鈥淲e use a tractor to make sand piles and dirt piles for the elephants and to mix up the mud wallow,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he ran as close as she could get and trumpeted at the tractor, so that was pretty sweet.鈥�

Quite puzzling: As Nandi鈥檚 diet matures, she continues to mimic the other elephants. 鈥淥n the perimeter of the exhibit, along the rock wall, it has puzzle feeders in the wall, holes with hay and leaves and branches,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淭he elephants reach in for food and she is starting to do that... I don鈥檛 know how much she is getting, but she is picking up what they are pulling out.鈥�

Her 鈥減erson鈥�: While Nandi hasn鈥檛 learned any new behaviors in training since last month, she has developed a sense of entitlement. 鈥淪he is getting more spunky, wanting to climb and reach toward our faces, and we have to wait for her to settle down,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he will follow us. When she goes to train, someone takes her mom, and the second person works with her. When the second person is not available, she鈥檚 looking for her own person. She鈥檚 like, 鈥榃ait. Is there somebody for me?鈥� If you鈥檙e a moment late, she鈥檚 like, 鈥楾here you are!鈥欌��

Each month, as Nandi bounds closer to her first birthday on Aug. 20, we will keep you in the know on what鈥檚 new with this precious pachyderm鈥檚 progress.

Sue Tygielski, Reid Park Zoo鈥榮 elephant manager, has the skinny on 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby.

Age: 11 months as of Monday, July 20. Next month, the little girl turns 1.

Weight: About 925 pounds. Tygielski anticipates Nandi hitting 1,000 pounds by her birthday, though she now gains weights in spurts, making it harder to predict.

Trunk target: Tygielski has been training Nandi in a behavior called 鈥渢runk target.鈥� Here, an elephant holds its trunk steady to the trainer鈥檚 palm, allowing the keeper to safely check spots like the feet and mouth.

鈥淵ou want to be able to maintain the trunk so you have a point of focus and know where the most dangerous part of the elephant is,鈥� Tygielski says. So far, Nandi has learned the trunk-to-palm touch and is now mastering 鈥� much to her frustration 鈥� duration.

鈥淪he has to be still,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he can鈥檛 be kicking her legs, and she can鈥檛 be flapping her ears ... so a lot of times, she鈥檒l just get three seconds where she is perfect, and then she just starts kicking with her leg, so that鈥檚 throwing a tantrum, and we can鈥檛 give her a treat. We have to start over again.鈥�

The tantrum of all tantrums: 鈥漈he first few times we started with these new rules, she threw a little tantrum,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚n fact, a colleague from San Diego was here and instructing us, and (Nandi) was not having a lot of fun, because she wasn鈥檛 having a lot of success, so she literally went and laid down and just rolled around kicking her legs and then came back to the trainer. It was like she was throwing a baby fit, a temper tantrum.鈥�

The elephant paddle: Summer weather has finally lured Nandi and mom Semba into the pool. 鈥淲hat she typically does is climb onto her mom鈥檚 sides and has her two front feet on her mom鈥檚 side so she can swim around ... and hang on to Mom, and that way she can conserve energy.鈥� Swimming wears Nandi out faster than running does, and she鈥檒l use any available elephant as a raft when her stamina fizzles. 鈥淪ometimes she is just under, and you know she is down there, and sometimes her trunk will come up for air, and sometimes it doesn鈥檛, and you know she鈥檚 fine. I don鈥檛 know what she is doing, but then she just kind of bounces up.鈥� Unlike her Aunt Lungile, who looks elegant in the water, Nandi鈥檚 dog paddle isn鈥檛 quite there yet. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not too much grace,鈥� Tygielski says, laughing.

No Nandi pancakes: Not to be a fun-sucker, but Tygielski often worries when the six elephants party together. 鈥淲e had one day where all six elephants were in the pool at once, which was amazing that they all fit, but they do,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淭hose are the days as a trainer that are a little scary, because when all of the elephants start having fun, they might forget where Nandi is and that she鈥檚 little and not to push her around.鈥�

But that鈥檚 where the keepers have an ally in Semba, who often swoops in to save Nandi from an imminent squashing. 鈥淪he has spent some time with Dad, on and off, which is so sweet, because side-by-side, she is so small and he is 12,000 pounds, and he continues to be really gentle with her.鈥� When they wallow together, 鈥淲e鈥檙e always like, 鈥極h gosh, please don鈥檛 smash her,鈥� but he knows. Somehow, they all know where she is and not to squish her.鈥�

Every morning, Nandi races into the Reid Park Zoo鈥檚 elephant barn to greet the day 鈥� and sometimes she trumpets.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know what a baby trumpet would sound like,鈥� says Sue Tygielski, the zoo鈥檚 elephant manager. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit like a squeaky sneeze.鈥�

It has been a year of discovery as Nandi鈥檚 eight keepers have cared for the first elephant born in 蜜柚直播.

First steps. First mud wallow. First swim.

First birthday.

On Aug. 20, 2014, 蜜柚直播 celebrated its 239th birthday.

Then at 10:55 p.m., this pachyderm princess stole the show.

Elephants lined up to watch Semba give birth in an adjacent paddock. And when the baby wobbled their way, they greeted her, trunks reaching through metal railings to caress the newborn, who later weighed in at 245 pounds.

鈥淎ll you could see in the light was the trunks coming through...鈥� says elephant keeper Mara Jameson. 鈥淭hey were very curious about her and getting to know who she was.鈥�

As was the rest of 蜜柚直播.

The zoo set an attendance record in 2014 with more than 617,000 visitors. The previous record of 606,884 visitors was set in 2012 when the elephants鈥� Expedition Tanzania opened along with two other small exhibits, said zoo education curator Vivian VanPeenen.

Nandi has also attracted out-of-state visitors.

鈥淚t just shocks us that they would come all the way to 蜜柚直播 to see our baby, and then you realize how lucky you are, because these people traveled to see her,鈥� Tygielski says.

They come because Nandi lives up to her siSwati name, which means 鈥渟weet鈥� or 鈥渇un鈥� in the Zulu language. Star readers, who voted for the name in September 2014, nailed it.

She鈥檚 spunky, playful and a pro mud-wallower. As of last week, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 big baby weighed 970 pounds.

In the coming year, Nandi will mature and act more like a 鈥渂igger toddler and a bigger kid,鈥� Tygielski says. Maturity means Nandi will receive more training that allows her keepers to better care for her. For example, she is getting closer to showing the staff the back of her ears and bottom of her feet.

She has better patience these days 鈥� no more toddler tantrums.

鈥淭here are very few people in the world that get to take care of a young elephant, especially one that鈥檚 in its family unit and behaving like an elephant,鈥� Tygielski says.

And when it comes to Nandi, 鈥渂ehaving like an elephant鈥� is pretty dang cute.

Here are seven times Nandi made us go 鈥淎wwww:鈥�

1. Meeting the family. 鈥淪he met (the elephants) somewhat individually, and each one would come to her and smell her with their trunk and touch her really gently,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淢abu (her dad) is so huge compared to her, but they all stroked her and touched her, and at one point, he kept tugging her ear to pull her up. ... She would reach up to his head with her trunk ... and his trunk looks like a tree trunk, and hers looks like a little piece of spaghetti.鈥�

2. Blowing water. 鈥淪he has learned how to blow water out of her trunk,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he will suck up water and make her own little pool. She will make her own little mud wallow special for her.鈥�

3. Braving thunder: 鈥漇he loves the monsoons because it will puddle up,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淚f there is scary thunder they can huddle together ... Nandi is the only one, when there is thunder, to run around, and when she sees that no one else is reacting, she sees that it鈥檚 not a big deal.鈥�

4. Playing dress up: 鈥滿om puts hay and sticks on her back, and Nandi will take a bunch of hay and throw it on her head,鈥� Tygielski says. Some days we have been coming to the barn, and we can鈥檛 see her face because she has a wig of hay.鈥�

5. Slipping and sliding: 鈥滺er mud wallow adventures 鈥� we were worried about her in the wallow, but she was so confident and not at all fearful,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he would trip around and fall and slip around, just getting her toddler coordination.鈥�

6. Charging the ducks: 鈥淲e have had batches of ducklings, and she is making it her personal mission to protect the herd from the ducks,鈥� Tygielski says. 鈥淪he runs up to them and stands there and is getting confident. The ducks don鈥檛 react at all. They鈥檙e so used to the animals, they don鈥檛 think she is going to do anything.鈥�

7. Cuddling with Sundzu: 鈥淣ow some of her sweetest moments are with Sundzu,鈥� Tygielski says of Nandi鈥檚 brother. 鈥淗e will often lie down on his stomach, so he is closer to her height and lets her climb on him. Punga has been doing it a little, but he also plays rough with her in the pool, but Mom comes over and splits things up and puts him on one side of the pool.鈥�