Born: 1976 in Krüger National Park in South Africa Gender: female Since 1984 in the zoo Basel Distinguishing features: clear horizontal wrinkles on her forehead, short tusks. Heri was born in Krüger National Park in South Africa ...
Daily Routine for the elephants in zoos and circus
What does a day in the life of a zoo elephant look like? A typical day for an elephant, e.g. at Zurich Zoo, might look somewhat like this: 07:00 The animal keepers begin their ...
Pregnancy of elephants
How long does an elephant cow’s menstrual cycle last? An elephant cow’s oestrogen cycle lasts 3-4 months. Thus an elephant cow is only ready to be covered by the bull about 3 to 4 ...
Mice and Elephants
Are elephants really afraid of mice? The rumour that elephants are scared of mice is very persistent and there are whole collections of jokes circulating on this topic. However, these jokes are just as ...
Keeping elephants
How are elephants kept? Nowadays, three different kinds of elephant keeping are used in zoos: “Free Contact”, “Protected Contact” and “Offhand Management”. However, in circuses, elephants are being shown in the ring. Working with ...
Ankus, Elephant Hook and Whip
What is an elephant hook? The ankus or elephant hook, in the colloquial language of the elephant keepers briefly named hooks, is an very old aid in handling elephants by humans in a direct ...
Herpes – Smallpox – Tuberculosis by the elephants
Which illnesses are very dangerous for elephants? Elephant smallpox, tuberculosis and elephant herpes hang over every elephant stable like the sword of Damocles. Smallpox In the last few years, elephant smallpox has been observed ...
Differences between African and Asian Elephant
How do different types of elephants differ? The difference between the African and the Asian elephants, looking closer, is remarkable . Actually they resemble each other only from a distance by their outward appearance. ...
The commands for the elephants
How many commands does a zoo elephant know? In his daily contact with the elephants, an elephant keeper uses about 16 different commands. By means of these commands, he communicates verbally with the elephants. ...
Elephants in Chains
Is the chaining up of elephants an issue? The fact that elephants are restrained by ropes or chains is a topic on which there has been a lot of discussion, both among elephant keepers ...