蜜柚直播

At only 10 months old, elephant calf Meru has proven herself to be utterly brave and exceedingly confident.

鈥淚 have seen some of the other elephants as they were younger be more reactive or lose their patience more quickly or get nervous about new things, but (Meru) is very confident and very patient and very adventurous,鈥� 聽elephant supervisor聽Cassie Dodds says.

Meru was born on March 8 to mom Semba, joining 10-year-old sister Nandi, 4-year-old sister Penzi and allomother Lungile. In late October, Reid Park Zoo, ,聽also introduced to the herd 16-year-old male elephant Tsavo, who made his way to 蜜柚直播 from Florida.

鈥淎nytime there鈥檚 something interesting going on, (Meru will) wander away from her mom and the other elephants to go and investigate, even if that鈥檚 a new bull elephant,鈥� Dodds says. 鈥淗er mom was a little cautious and stayed back, but Meru went right on up to him and didn鈥檛 care that no one else was around her. She just wanted that interaction.鈥�

鈥淪he has been a bit of a welcoming committee with him,鈥� Dodds says.

Tsavo was introduced to the herd in baby steps, first through two barriers, then just one. Now, he鈥檚 interacted with the entire herd without any barriers in place 鈥� Dodds says it was an instantaneous friendship between Tsavo and 835-pound Meru.

鈥淲e were cautious and careful about introducing them and the final step was putting them in the space together,鈥� Dodds says. 鈥淗e immediately was very gentle with her and she immediately treated him like a friend.鈥�

For Dodds, watching the introductions among the herd members and Tsavo is something she鈥檒l cherish for the entirety of her career.

鈥淓lephant introductions are really special and important 鈥� the most important thing to them is their social relationship,鈥� she says. 鈥淓lephants can form bonds that last a lifetime.鈥�

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As for Meru鈥檚 growth in the last month, her attention span has improved, which is beneficial when working on her behaviors and training sessions.

Training sessions at Reid Park Zoo are voluntary for the elephants and always done through positive reinforcement. The sessions help zoo staff evaluate the health and well-being of the elephants.

鈥淪he鈥檚 learning things lightning fast,鈥� Dodds says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 learning to put her trunk back, to open her mouth, she鈥檚 learning to present her feet. Usually when we鈥檙e learning something new, that鈥檚 all she wants to do, so she鈥檒l put her feet on the cables to try to get you to look at them.鈥�

She鈥檚 also learning an 鈥淎 to B鈥� behavior, where one zookeeper will call her name and another person, standing elsewhere, will call her name afterwards.

鈥淪he鈥檚 getting really fast at that game and she鈥檒l stay with the trainer. She鈥檚 really starting to focus on the trainer who鈥檚 with her,鈥� Dodds says. 鈥淪he knows her name for the most part. She usually gets moved with her mom so she might think her name is 鈥楽emba Meru.鈥欌��

Meru is still in love with grapes, and she鈥檚 also been branching out a bit more with slices of apple and sweet potato. And although she'll nurse for years to come, the big changes in her diet right now are leaves and hay. She used to simply nibble on them, but now she鈥檚 eating huge mouthfuls.

鈥淥ne day, she鈥檒l like something and the next day, she won鈥檛,鈥� Dodds says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to work with her on elephant pellets, which have vitamins and minerals that are good for the elephants. We try to give those to her. Sometimes she eats them like candy and sometimes she鈥檒l just drop them on the ground. It varies from day to day 鈥� and time of day.鈥�

Of course, Meru is still spending time doing what she does best: climbing on logs and large . As per usual, her belly rolls on top of the ball and her little feet dangle off the ground.

鈥淪he鈥檒l pass by a lot of other things in the habitat right now to spend time with her balls,鈥� Dodds says.