Yes to mud, no to mushy carrots: Here's what Tucson's 5-month-old elephant has been up to

It’s official. Reid Park Zoo’s big bundle of joy has surpassed 600 pounds.

Born to African elephant Semba on March 8, Meru is now 5 months old and tipping the scale at 605 pounds. Meru is the fifth member of the herd, joining allomother Lungile and big sisters 4-year-old Penzi and Nandi, who will turn 10 on Aug. 20.

Meru is healthy and happy — and bigger than both her sisters were at her age.

“They’re all very similar, but Penzi each month weighed more than Nandi did and now Meru is slated to weigh more than Penzi,” says elephant care specialist Mara Eisenbarth.

Last month, Meru was still getting familiar with her spaghetti noodle of a trunk, learning how to pick up food to put into her mouth. This month, she’s learned to better control her trunk and has become more intentional with how she splashes water and mud on herself.

Speaking of water and mud — she loves both. When zoo staff move the elephants around to shift them in the habitat, Meru is often placed by water. She’s loved rolling in mud since she was only 1 week old and that hasn’t changed.

What has changed, though, is Meru’s relationship with Penzi. Month by month, Penzi has become more comfortable and more playful around her baby sister. 

“Penzi still every now and then will let (Meru) know that she’s her older sister, in a way that’s appropriate for them, but they have been spending more time together,” Eisenbarth says.

Nandi is still completely enamored by Meru and is becoming more trusting of Penzi to get closer to the calf.

“Nandi is always keeping a watchful eye,” Eisenbarth says. “She’s still in that mothering role but she doesn’t have to do quite as much interjection.”

Elephants are big on etiquette. You might see Meru standing with her back-end near Penzi’s head. Elephants might position themselves that way as they’re passing by or trying to eat in the same area, but want to signal that they’re not trying to steal food.

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“That’s a very submissive move on Meru’s part. It’s good communication,” Eisenbarth says. “She will kinda get pushed away if she doesn’t do that. She learns if she does it the way everyone else does it, she gets the reward of being close. She learns a lot from watching.”

Meru is also learning how to stand still for longer periods of time, a helpful skill in the event of voluntary blood draws.

One keeper will position themselves in front of Meru while holding some sort of positive reinforcement. Right now, that’s a puzzle feeder made out of a head of lettuce. Inside the folds are hidden treats like drizzles of pureed acorn squash or diced veggies.

“We found out recently that pureed carrot is not her favorite — it gets stuck in her trunk so she spends the session trying to snort it out,” Eisenbarth says. (For the record, Meru does like raw carrots, just not the mashed-up kind.)

While one keeper holds the lettuce, a second keeper will touch and move Meru’s ear — the thinnest part of an elephant’s body and the easiest area to see the vein for drawing blood.

“We’re trying to pair that touching and movement with something really positive so she is comfortable with us touching her ear,” Eisenbarth says. “Now we’re working on her standing still. It kinda depends on her attention span — sometimes in the afternoon she’s a little mellow because she’s gotten her energy out so she might stick around for longer. But in the morning, her training sessions might be a little shorter just to make sure they’re all positive.”

Training sessions at Reid Park Zoo are always voluntary for the elephants and done through positive reinforcement. Training allows staff members to better evaluate the elephants’ health and well-being.

While still interacting with the herd, Meru has become more independent, completely satisfied with entertaining herself. She’s been caught on camera climbing back and forth on the same log several times as the rest of the herd eats their lunch.

“She’s just content hanging out with herself,” Eisenbarth says.

She’s also starting to eat solids a bit more often. She gets her own pile of hay now and while she’ll face plant into it at first, she’ll actually manage to eat a good bit of it. She’s also been testing out what everyone else is eating, from tree branches to vegetables.

“There’s been a bit more trumpeting when she’s having extra fun — usually paired with mud or water, but her little voice is definitely coming out,” Eisenbarth says.

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