Zuli has definitely been living up to his name! His full name, Umzula-zuli, means wanderer and this precious pachyderm has certainly done his fair share of wandering during the past five weeks. He spends most of his time with his mom Ndula, but also enjoys wandering off with his sisters/babysitters! Khosi, Kami, and Qinisa have gladly been taking over babysitting duties while mom enjoys a snack or some rest. Khosi is never far from Zuli and even tries to nurse him, even though she isn’t producing milk. This experience for Khosi, Kami, and Qinisa is an amazing learning opportunity for when the time comes for them to have their own calves.
Zuli has been nursing and growing like a champ! He nurses from Ndula for up to an hour a day and is gaining 2 to 4 pounds a day. He is getting very strong and loves to show his strength by wrestling with hay cubes and his favorite “opponent,” the hay ball! You might see Zuli climbing and pushing on these items while his mom tries to eat from them. Sometimes the hay ball even swings around and pushes back!
Along with his wrestling skills, Zuli is also mastering the art of using his trunk! He loves to use his trunk to carry browse pieces just like his mom! He can be seen carrying these proudly around the elephant yards. Although he isn’t eating solid food yet, Zuli also practices his fine trunk-muscle skills by picking up small pieces of produce. He sometimes even face plants into the pile to get a piece. Zuli is especially excited over water. He uses his trunk to slurp up water then blows it into his mouth. This is excellent practice for when he is older and drinking about 20 to 50 gallons a day!
Zuli has been having the best time interacting with his herd. He has now been in both of our main yards, where he runs from family member to family member. He even interacts with our bull elephant Msholo, who sometimes gets startled as Zuli zooms by. The entire herd has been coming together to ensure that Zuli is well taken care of as he is a very important asset to the herd’s future.
Working with Zuli has been an amazing experience. He now seeks out keeper attention and loves interacting with us while mom Ndula gets her training sessions. We are starting to build our trust based relationship with him through play with a hose or browse pieces, ear scratches (which he really loves!), and rubdowns. We will continue to build our relationship with Zuli through positive reinforcement as he grows and we can’t wait to watch his fun, sassy personality develop even more.
Lauren Coates is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Watching pre-dawn this morning; posted that on the blog for the new baby. It’s like musical chairs, with the blogs, right now!
It IS a cute video, Jan. Agree about the babysitting… Erin, I “won the lottery” guessing it was a girl, too. We’re going to be elephant experts at the rate we’re going!
Northern Calif. Fan, so glad you’ve seen the new baby! She did indeed look shell-shocked, poor little thing. Also, a baby elephant’s eyesight isn’t very good for the first few days, according to what I’ve read, so that may be part of the “spacey” look. She is SO cute!
Can you put a big pink bow on the new baby girl so we can tell who’s who?? :=)
Lana, I’m not sure where it will go with the girls, and the new baby girl. Ndula seemed to give Khosi the top honors in baby-sitting, but you know, when it’s your own sister, what is an Elephant to do. I’m think Kami and Nisa will have to take turns, there’s going to be a lot of baby-sitting going on for awhile. It’s going to beautiful to watch.
She is a big girl, you get that when first seeing her. That’s why this afternoon when I first saw her, I thought it wass Zuli and I was worried where in the world was Ndula. That Zuli was fixated with Umngani and I wasn’t sure how Ndula was going to like that. Then I feared something happened to Ndula and Zuli was left with Umngani. My mind was racing, there was a lot going on and I was afraid the “little guy” was going to get hurt as Mama U wasn’t about to give up her enrichment box either, as she was being crowded about by the others. I first thought she was trying to get away from Zuli, (who was not Zuli.) Thank goodness I was wrong and Mama U had had her baby. I figured out it was a little girl too, as I did peek.
I saw them at the water hole too. It was so very sweet to see them like that together. I am really looking forward to seeing the babies play together.
Sorry Neepo, I don’t think you got a birthday party this year, but at least you got a new baby sister for your birthday.
There’s a cute video on youtube of the new baby. “Giant Delivery! Elephant Calf Born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park”
Cannot believe I guessed correctly on a 50/50 chance. I just got my first sight of Mama U’s newest little elephant. She is so cute. In the animal kingdom I think baby elephants are the cutest of them all.
Wow! I just tuned in and briefly saw the new baby girl in the pen with her mama, Umngami before the camera panned away! Congratulations to mama U and Keepers! New baby looked a little wobbly and shell shocked, and staying very close to her mama, while mama was enthusiastically eating branches of acacia.
It’s a GIRL!!! You probably already know that. Congratulations, Mama U, and her family, Papa Mabu. And to the Keepers!
I saw the post about Zuli being a big brother, but I have not been lucky enough to catch sight of the newest baby. Fifty fifty chance to guess the sex so I will go with a girl. But as Mabu is the father maybe not. Nope I will stick with my pick.
I’m so eager for more news about the baby! Just tuned in mid-afternoon here in NY and my first reaction was “that’s Umngani” and when I saw how tiny and wobbly the little one was, I was thrilled! Wonderful to see this precious little newborn tottering around with Mama. Jan, do you think Kami will be the babysitter this time, with Khosi already attached to Zuli, or are they going to trade back and forth? And where will Nisa fit in?–for sure with two tiny calves demanding a lot of attention, both of the older girls are going to need some “time out” from their duties! Just now Kami seems to have the inside track, so to speak. I loved the brief time that they were all at the “waterhole,” with Umngani’s boys there too, interested and gentle as they always are. (She’s always had good “kids.” An exceptionally loving mother, even among ele mothers who are so very patient and affectionate.)
I got a much better look and yes, we have a new babay. Boy or Girl?
Very early this morning, before sun-up, I saw a couple Ellies in the pen attached to the barn in the east yard.
Now we just have to wait for the news!!!
It looks like Mama U had her baby, as there’s a little one following her around.
Thank you, Lauren!!! Your shares on Zuli are wonderful, and I, like the others, appreciate how all of you take time out of your busy days, to enlighten us with news and updates on our marvelous herd. And a special thank you for the mini-videos! 🙂
I share in all that’s been said here. Lana’s sharing how watching Emanti go through all that he did, when the team tried to save his tusks and then the care thereafter from his surgeries, about had me in tears as well. I think us cam viewers would have to admit, we’re all attached to our herd.
One of the highlights of my day is watching the cam, pretty much from sun up to sun down, while I’m at work or at home. I find something new each day to be amazed with as I watch the cam. I would have never guessed that Elephants are so deeply bonded with one another, and how bulls will mentor the young boys and their loving, gentle interaction with all the herd.
So, like Lana mentioned, we can nearly be brought to tears when we see something that effects one Elephant, or overjoyed when we see the love and care they all have for one another. And watching the Elephant Team, and your dedication to making our Ellies habitat safe, natural and comfortable as you possibly can, is a witness, that being a Keeper isn’t just a job, it’s a pleasure.
Thanks, Lauren, for a great update. And especially for telling us what Zuli’s name means–I tried Google but it didn’t help much with translating it. I’ve noted over the years how the keepers build their relationships with the various elephants and how much the ellies enjoy their interactions with them… and trust them when there’s medical issues, etc., as when poor little Emanti had so much trouble with his tusks and they were trying to save the tusks, then taking care of the cavities where the tusks had been. He allowed some no-doubt-very-painful irrigation. I saw how the keeper(s) and vet would do a little of the procedure, give him a breather, then continue, then another breather, and so on. And he would let them do it, understanding (as ellies do) that they were trying to help him even tho’ it was an ordeal for him. Even without audio, and viewed from a distance, you could see that the keeper kept talking, patting and stroking, and reassuring him before, during, and for awhile after, the process. Love and trust between the ele and the keeper were so touchingly obvious that it brought tears to my eyes. Like Northern Calif. Fan, I never enjoyed zoos, but “our” herd seems to have adapted well and still behaves in their wild-born ways as much as possible, seemingly–which I find very hopeful–passing on those traits to their calves as well. The whole Elephant Team does a super job with enrichments, I’m as eager as the elephants to see what new “landscapes” and toys they come up with!
Lauren, thank you so much for this great update about litttle Zuli. You said he gains 2 to 4 pounds a day so how much does he weigh now? He is the most adorable baby in the whole world. Is there any more information about Umngani’s pregnancy? It will be great to have 2 babies in the herd. I’ll bet Khosi will need to spend a lot of time with her mom and the new baby.
Thank you Lauren for Baby Zuli update! (and Wendy for last months update!) We ellie fans are so grateful when you take time out of your very busy schedules to do that. Yes, my daughter and I have been so very much enjoying watching Zuli’s adventures growing up. It is so fun watching him get more dextrous with his trunk picking branches up and bringing things to his mouth and his climbing and sparring with the round feeding balls and square cubes as well as his loving and feisty interactions with the other herd members. They seem to be so patient and gentle with him. I also loved a few weeks ago when I spotted him in the distance on the cam interacting with two of the keepers through the bars. Both the keepers and Zuli seemed to be clearly delighting in interacting with one another. You do such a good job! My daughter and I had only just discovered the San Diego animal cams a few days before Zuli was born so it has been such a learning experience watching him grow and watching his interactions with the rest of the herd as well as theirs with each other. I am slowly trying to tell apart the babysitters–Khosi, Kami and Quinsia esp as I read other elephant fan blogs such as Jan, Lana and East Coast and re-read the elephant descriptions on the cam page. It’s so endearing watching the baby sitters care for him and let him nurse with no milk production so Ndula can have a little break and they can practice. Ndula is such a patient and kind mother. Also, it’s amazing how sensitive all of the elephant’s awareness is of not stepping on Zuli when they have such large bodies–even when they are doing the submissive backing up behavior or when he is lying on the ground between them. I have occassionally watched Zuli sample some tastes of elephant dung and wondered if it was like baby koalas and sure enough when I google searched it I found this on Wikipedia: “The young of elephants, giant pandas, koalas and hippos eat the feces of their mothers or other animals in the herd, in order to obtain the bacteria required to properly digest vegetation found in their ecosystems.[12] When such animals are born, their intestines are sterile and do not contain these bacteria. Without doing this they would be unable to obtain any nutritional value from plants.” I’m learning so much about elephants because of your elephant cam! Even when I watch footage now of wild elephant herds, I understand their behavior and nuances so much more after having observed the San Diego Zoo herd. I look forward to continuing to learn and will donate as soon as I am financially able to because I think your efforts on education are so valuable to us all and to conservation efforts in the wild. And this is from me, a person who has never liked zoos because the animals usually look so bored and unhappy. As I watch the elephant zoo cam, I am impressed by mostly how contented the animals seem. I don’t see the usual restless, unhappy, distressed pacing or lethargic, hopeless listlessness in cramped living conditions that I’ve seen at other zoos (like the SF Zoo or the Oakland Zoo up here in the north). Because of that, I stopped going to zoos a long time ago. I look forward to when my daughter is well again and we can head south for a visit.