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Sue Tygielski, the Reid Park Zoo’s elephant manager, has the skinny on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 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, “I think what’s 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.�

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. “We are starting to use her name more and more to call her over,� Tygielski says in an email. “She is also becoming less shy if multiple trainers try to work with her on brushing her ears back.�

One person’s trash is Nandi’s treasure: “She is still obsessing with paper bags,� Tygielski says. “Today, 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, ‘Don’t take that on exhibit. It looks like trash.’ 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’s doing and go stomp on it and play around.�

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. “They are just going on like big brothers do and not paying any attention to their sister,� Tygielski says. Instead, Nandi is spending more time with Aunt Lungile.

She’s growing up so fast: Nandi is starting to move like a grown-up — sometimes. “Elephants look like they are gliding as they move, and at times, she does,� Tygielski says. “But when she runs, she turns back into a floppy-footed youngster.� Nandi also ventures into the mud wallow solo, though Mom still won’t let her near the pool. Nursing still provides most of her nutrients, but like a good big girl, she’s trying grown-up food, stuffing hay in her mouth, the essence of maturity — until it all falls out. “She seems to be playing,� Tygielski says.

What Tygielski has loved about these last six months: Watching Nandi grow. “I 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,� she says. “I delight in how much she recognizes people and seems excited to see us. That’s a little perk of this job.�