Umngani has long, beautiful tusks and is the mother of the oldest calf, Khosi. Lungile is the smallest female with short tusks. Ndula has a “snaggle tusk” which hooks under her trunk and is only visible when she raises it to rest it on her son, the juvenile Musi. Now that I can tell the difference between each, it is on to the research and data collection!

We are currently outfitting our African elephants with collars that will hold both a GPS unit to track animal movement and a recording unit to capture vocalizations (see How Far Do Elephants Walk in One Day?). This collar will be worn together with the anklet pedometer to track the number of steps the animals take when moving around the enclosure. All of these units are designed to automatically collect data when worn by the elephants; the data is then downloaded for analysis.

You may notice that a critical piece of information is missing with all of the automatically collected data. What are the elephants actually doing and how are they behaving at the time? Is Musi playing in the pool on a hot afternoon? Is Swazi trumpeting at her nearest neighbor who is getting too close? Or are Umoya and Kamile simply wandering the yard munching on an afternoon snack? Over the course of the next year, I will be out with the elephants recording such daily behaviors.

How do you start when embarking on a project looking at animal behavior? The first step is to make an ethogram, a chart that describes all of the natural behaviors of the animals. Then we narrow down from this comprehensive list to the specific behaviors of interest. In our case, we will be looking for social behaviors between individuals, including trunk or body contact, chasing one another around the yard, and suckling by the calves.

Our data will give us a better picture of what the Wild Animal Park’s herd of African elephants is doing on a daily basis. From this we will know where each animal is moving in the yard and why. We should be able to figure out whether their daily walking distance depends on the weather, or where their food is placed, or where the other elephants are. Finally, we will be able to see what vocalizations and behaviors are friendly and seem to say, “Hey, come over here!” and which ones politely mean, “Get out of my way!” All of this will help us to more effectively manage our herd and increase our understanding of wild herds in Africa.

Emily Rothwell is a Heller Fellow Research Associate with the San Diego Zoo’s Behavioral Biology Division.

View the Park’s elephants daily on Elephant Cam…

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The sisters seem to have their favorites and behave accordingly. Looking at the interactions they have with each other, as well as noting if one sister prefers the company of another, is a perfect way for me to see if the sisters have a distinct dominance hierarchy. This hierarchy can then be compared to hormone levels of reproductive cycles in the cheetahs to see if the dominant cheetah is behaviorally suppressing her sisters from cycling. This is important for us to know in order to best house our lovely cheetah girls.

As many pet owners know, cats enjoy spending most of their time sleeping. Cheetahs are no different! The fact that the girls spend a lot of their time relaxing makes it difficult to record social interactions with each other. However, all is not lost. I can record which sisters relax next to others, and which ones relax alone. Even though they are not actively interacting, the fact that they make the choice to be next to another cheetah is an important choice I must be aware of. In fact, for being a solitary animal, the girls surprisingly spend almost half of their time together. Once I analyze my data, I will be able to see who the cooler sister is to hang out with and what this means for dominance.

When the cheetahs do interact with each other, it usually seems to be friendly. They enjoy grooming, playing, following, and approaching one another. There have been some instances of aggression and avoidance, but not many so far. The sisters seem to be getting along quite well. This is good news for their housing situation, because it appears they don’t mind living together.

At this point, a strong dominance hierarchy does not seem to be emerging. This could be because the sisters are still young, and once they get older they won’t enjoy hanging out as much with each other. It could just mean that within our group of cheetahs the sisters have chosen a democracy instead of a monarchy. I still have about a month left to collect more data and further analyze what is going on behaviorally and hormonally with these cheetahs. Even though no strict hierarchy characterizes the sisters, Moyo seems to be the magnet because she’s the favorite to be near. Check back in a month or so to find out more.

Megan Petersdorf is a CRES Bonner summer fellow in the San Diego Zoo’s Behavioral Biology Division.

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In fact, she was doing so well that the decision was made to proceed with the introduction to Herman. The hospital staff was well prepared to step in, if necessary, but aside from Sweet Otter being a bit protective over Kalila, the introduction went smoothly. Soon all three otters were swimming, eating, playing, and sleeping together over the next few days.

We were all prepared to welcome the three otters back to their home in the San Diego Zoo’s Bear Canyon when Kalila took a turn for the worse. On Monday morning, the hospital keeper noticed that she was moving slowly and wasn’t very interested in food. A few hours later she was more lethargic and the veterinarian on duty decided to check her out. Sadly, she passed away right as they were preparing to examine her. Many tests are pending to determine why she died, and as soon as I have some answers I will post another blog.

So, on Tuesday, Sweet Otter and Herman did come back to their exhibit where they are now residing. It’s hard to say what kind of loss Sweet Otter may be experiencing. She continues to have a good appetite and seems to have settled back into her exhibit. I’m probably more devastated than she as I had become very attached to little Kalila and was so looking forward to having the three of them in my charge. However, life doesn’t always go as planned, and I am accepting this as the days go by. The good news is that Herman and Sweet Otter are getting along fine and are both healthy.

Thank you to everyone who sent comments to my previous blogs. It’s been a fun and rewarding last five months and I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences watching Kalila grow. She will be sorely missed.

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Moderator’s note: We were all saddened to learn of Kalila’s passing and appreciate the effort Hali made to share her story with our readers.

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Since iguanas burrow underground to beat the heat, build a nest, or find protection from potential predators, the barn foundation had to be deep enough to allow this natural behavior. Now that the groundwork is done, the building itself is popping up quite fast. The iguanas’ U-haul should be rolling in by the end of the summer!

So, are cat naps being disturbed and cheetahs getting perturbed? Given all this development, the Q boys actually appear to be quite resilient to the ruckus. In fact, on some days the brothers’ behavior seems to be more directed at breakfast than at drills and saws! Once our data collection is finished, we may be able to sort through some of the more subtle differences in behavior. For example, during construction do the two brothers spend more time in more protected parts of the enclosure, do they spend more time close to the other cheetah, do they produce more stress hormones, do they pace more/nap more/are they more alert? It may sound like a lot of questions but in this case curiosity can help save the cat by teaching us more about how this exotic species responds to the surrounding environment.

I have also been spending a lot of time in the Endocrinology Lab, figuring out what’s the scoop on poop. We have a lot of different kinds: bird turds, elephant dung, cat scat, rhino patties…poop from all different types of animals kept in the collection! We use feces to monitor hormone levels that, depending on the hormone we look at, can tell us a lot about the animal. Cheetah reproduction is pretty complicated, and monitoring reproductive hormone levels is important to determine when breeding should occur or if females are pregnant. With a couple of chemicals, a few lab machines, and a test tube or two, we can measure reproductive hormones in both the Q boys and our other breeding cats!

We are currently tracking changes after our recent breeding program to see what the scoop is and we are hoping for a breeding success! Only time will tell, so stay tuned for more updates!

Ria Boner is a CRES Neeper Summer Intern in the San Diego Zoo’s Behavioral Biology Division.

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It did catch up with her, though. At one point she sat splashing in her now-muddy pool and then suddenly sat stock still—and began to jerk spasmodically. Everyone became silent, staring with concern, until it happened again and again and again. With all that racing around, Su Lin had given herself the hiccups! Too funny!! She found it very disconcerting and didn’t seem to enjoy them, but our visitors loved it. It was not a long bout, fortunately for Su Lin, but it added to the chronology of “things pandas do,” including burping and talking in their sleep.

Zhen Zhen slept most of the morning, but did spend some time investigating a very elaborate enrichment item consisting of woven nylon, climbing rope, two types of PVC pipe and some chain. It was something to see her investigating and inspecting, but hunger won out and she soon sought out Bai Yun for a nursing bout not readily encouraged by Mom. It won’t be too long now before ZZ will be eating enough bamboo on her own not to need the supplement of her mother’s milk and shortly thereafter the separation will begin, at least from Mom’s point of view. It’s still a lot of fun to see this small cub throw herself up on Bai’s back, and slide off and roll away!

Ellie Rosenbaum is a panda narrator at the San Diego Zoo.

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Our 5-month-old otter pup is now named Kalila. This is an African name that means “sweetheart” or “precious.” Since her mom’s name is Sweet Otter, we felt this name was perfect, and of course we think she is just PRECIOUS!

So, what’s Kalila been up to lately? Well, she is growing fast, now about ¾ the size of her mom and trying to act like a grown-up otter. She still follows Sweet Otter everywhere and still makes her loud squeaks that sound like, “Weee, weee” all throughout the day. This is normal for young clawless otters, and I’ve read that depending on how loud or soft the call is determines which emotion is being expressed. I haven’t heard much vocalizing from the adults, but I’m sure they have their own language as well.

At my last writing, we hadn’t been filling the exhibit pool all the way yet until we felt confident that Kalila could handle the depth. Well, rest assured, as of mid June she has skillfully enjoyed a full pool where she dolphin dives, flips, twirls, and cruises every inch of it! Not only does Kalila navigate well, but she’s extremely playful. She likes to play with the leaves that drop into the exhibit and she rolls around with the various floating toys we offer. One day I witnessed Kalila grab her mom’s tail for a free ride around the pool. Another day one keeper saw her hanging on to a large 12-inch floating Boomer ball while mom pushed her around in the water.

In fact, Sweet Otter and her daughter are quite a bonded pair. Whenever mom wants to groom her baby, often times while swimming, Kalila simply goes limp like a rag doll and makes soft little cooing noises. Sweet Otter has also been teaching her baby how to be aggressive and go for the food. When we toss fish to them, Sweet Otter is the first to find the goods, with baby in tow. As soon as Kalila catches up to her, she screams and snorts while trying to grab the fish. Sweet Otter keeps the fish out of reach just briefly until she feels her baby has done her proud, then drops it, letting Kalila feel as though she’s won.

We also hand feed the pair of them in their bedroom area. This helps us get a close-up look at them. Here is where Kalila has adopted mom’s begging behavior. Both of them now grab at me through the bars with their chubby little clawless fingers. It’s quite cute to watch, and as much as it looks as though they want you to touch them back, they seem so disappointed when it’s my hand they grab and not some food. But, I really just can’t help myself!

Prior to this week, both mom and pup have been on exhibit. They enjoy rolling in the sand, catching naps under their logs, or joyfully swimming and playing to the amusement of many. However, the exhibit is currently unoccupied because we sent the girls up to our hospital holding facility to be introduced back to the male, Herman. Kalila had never met her dad, but reports from the hospital keeper staff say she seems to like him just fine. It’s mom that Herman needs to worry about. She’s still feeling quite protective of Kalila and has been “keeping Herman in his place.” It should only be a matter of time before she allows him back into the family group.

As soon as things are copacetic, we will be bringing all three otters back down to the exhibit, hopefully any day now. I plan to write another blog after receiving the otters back, so stay tuned for future updates!

Hali Anderson is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Hear otter pup Kalila at three months old:

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Gone are the days when the role of a zoo keeper was simply to show up, clean up, and feed the animals; now, the keeper’s role is much more diverse and challenging. As we all know, keepers are tasked with a huge responsibility and have to look not only after an animal’s physical well-being, but also their mental well-being. A keeper must know all the animals in his or her care and be able to identify immediately when something is amiss. A keeper must also provide a stimulating environment for the animals through research and environmental enrichment. Most keepers today are highly skilled professionals possessing a minimum of a bachelor’s degree related to their field.

National Zoo Keeper Week provided a great opportunity for the keepers at both the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park to highlight all the things we do. Displays were set up at both campuses showcasing items we use in our everyday work. Items used for enrichment, capture and restraint, training, medical care, and feeding were there, along with various photographs and presentations of research projects. From ropes and ear tags to Boomer balls and whistles, items were displayed and guests were invited to view the items and talk with the keepers about their use.

The San Diego Zoo recognized the keepers for all of our hard work and dedication with a series of fun events throughout the week, including a breakfast with a raffle of donated items, pizza lunches, and social happy hours. The week officially ended on July 26, but for us it actually came to a close on Monday, July 28, at Petco Park. Zoo employees and their friends and families gathered to watch the San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (we won, by the way: 8 to 5!). Before the game, board members of the San Diego AAZK chapter and keepers from both the Park and the Zoo were welcomed onto the field (pictured above). But they didn’t show up alone—they brought along a few animal ambassadors as well: a warthog, a porcupine, and a pangolin! The keepers were acknowledged for all that they do and stood on the field during the singing of the national anthem. Nikki Boyd, an animal care manager at the Zoo, threw out the first pitch, an award she had received from the AAZK chapter for raising the most money for rhino conservation during the annual Bowling for Rhinos fund-raiser held this past May.

All in all I feel that this year’s celebration of National Zoo Keeper Week was a great success. I especially enjoyed sharing stories with all the young, aspiring zoo keepers I met throughout the week!

Kym Nelson is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.

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The two were very playful! Zhen Zhen was not shy with her ice birthday cake adorned with treats, honey, and bamboo. She climbed right to the top, slid off, and climbed up again and again. Bai Yun also had an interest in the cake, but Zhen Zhen seemed determined to enjoy her special day and not let Bai Yun get in the way of her birthday fun! Su Lin engaged in play with her own ice cake a little more peacefully, as she didn’t have to share with Bai Yun.

Michelle Thompson is a research technician at the San Diego Zoo.

Watch video of the birthday celebration…

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