Reid Park Zoo’s 8-month-old elephant Mapenzi spent the last month showing her independence and nailing a new training trick.

And despite the cooler temperatures outside, 815-pound Mapenzi has a β€œpretty good buffer” for the cold, elephant supervisor Cassie Dodds says. β€œOnce she gets moving, she generates a lot of heat.”

The elephants’ barn is also climate-controlled and keepers monitor Mapenzi frequently, checking for any signs of shivers.

Mapenzi β€” Penzi for short β€” was born to African elephant Semba on April 6. She joined sister Nandi, dad Mabu, brother Sundzu and aunt Lungile at the zoo.

The Star is documenting Penzi’s milestones each month until she’s 1 year old.

Though she’s growing more independent, Penzi loves her playtime with big sister Nandi.

Learning something new

Training sessions at Reid Park Zoo, which are done through positive reinforcement, are voluntary for the elephants. The sessions allow staff to evaluate the elephants and ensure they’re healthy.

Target training is one of the β€œtricks” taught to the elephants. Keepers put their hand out and the elephants touch their hand with the tip of their trunk. The trick helps teach the elephants to follow the keepers. Dodds says target training helps keep the elephants focused.

β€œWe’ll put our hand out and we’ll say β€˜target’ and (Penzi) reaches her little trunk out and touches our hand,” Dodds says.

β€œThe light bulb finally came on with this behavior,” Dodds says. β€œIn the past, she would kind of follow us around just for fun, but it’s all coming together now and the wheels are turning and she’s figuring it out.”

Afterwards, keepers will usually blow a whistle so the elephants know they did a good job. They’re also rewarded with treats. Though Penzi still nurses and her food preferences have changed several times over the last few months, her current favorite food is hand-picked Bermuda grass.

Mapenzi β€” Penzi for short β€” was born to African elephant Semba on April 6. She joined sister Nandi, dad Mabu, brother Sundzu and aunt Lungile at the zoo.

Gaining independence

As weeks pass, Penzi continues to become more independent.

β€œSome evenings, I’ve checked on her and she’s clear on the other side of the habitat than her mom and her sister,” Dodds says. β€œShe’s deciding to do things on her own a little bit more.”

Penzi likes to find things around her habitat to interact with β€” food to eat, a log to balance on or toys to play with.

Despite her growing independence, Penzi is still social with the rest of the herd β€” and still very playful.

β€œShe definitely prefers the fun times with her sister,” Dodds says.

Penzi likes to find things around her habitat to interact with β€” food to eat, a log to balance on or toys to play with.

Penzi’s role as an ambassador

Reid Park Zoo has partnered with a handful of other zoos to help scientists learn about elephant-specific viruses. Keepers will be collecting stool samples from Tucson’s elephants for the next year to contribute to the study.

β€œA lot of great research will come out of it,” Dodds says.

Dodds also says that Penzi has been β€œdoing her job to remind us all that we should care about elephants and wildlife.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, keepers haven’t been able to interact with guests as much, so they’ve turned to social media.

β€œWe’ve really been focusing a lot on how cute it is that (Penzi) has impacted the community so much,” Dodds says. Keepers have been watching people on social media learn about elephant behavior, share photos and keep up to date with Penzi from all over the world.

Reid Park Zoo is currently open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily with timed ticketing in place. Visit reidparkzoo.org for more info.

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact reporter Gloria Knott at gknott@tucson.com or 573-4235. On Twitter: @gloriaeknott