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Photo Diary: Elephant Behind-the-Scenes at the Zoo Tampa [1]
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Date: 2023-01-25
Like many zoos, Zoo Tampa has a number of special behind-the-scenes “Animal Encounters” that are available for guests. For an extra charge, you get taken back to the off-exhibit animal care facilities in small groups and get special demonstrations from the zoo’s animal care staff and keepers.
So, during my latest visit to the Zoo (I have a membership) I signed up for the Elephant Encounter, where we got to see the Elephant’s regular training session and ask questions of the zookeepers. (Some animal encounters allow interaction with the animals, but not the Elephants—we don’t want tourists getting squished.) The Elephants are regularly trained to do certain actions on command—these are not “tricks” or “shows”, but are a necessary part of performing regular keeper checkups and veterinary exams.
Some photos.
For those who don't know, I live in a converted campervan and travel around the country, posting photo diaries of places that I visit. I am currently wintering in Florida.
The zoo has six Elephants in the herd—four adults and two adolescents
The Elephant’s exhibit paddock
The training is done off-exhibit
Since there’s no way to force an Elephant to do something they don’t want to do, all of the training is at the discretion of the Elephant, who chooses whether or not to participate
At 40, Elly is the oldest female and the herd’s matriarch
Elly. Who would have thought that Elephants have such lovely long eyelashes?
The keepers work with training the Elephants each day
Having the Elephant lie down allows things like drawing blood, ultrasounds, and physical examinations
Presenting a foot on command allows for regular inspections and toenail care
“Stand up” allows inspection of the Elephant’s belly and underside
All of the training is done through positive reinforcement and rewards
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