Elephant enrichment project

Through the years, we have had various enrichment toys for our elephants placed around the park. Many elephants make good use of the “toys,” while others pay little attention to them.

At the moment, we have a few elephants who are confined to their shelters while they are being treated for abscesses or foot problems. Once again, we have taken to creating enrichment toys to help ease their boredom while stimulating their sense of curiousity and problem solving.

We roam around the park looking for tires, branches and discarded boxes that can be used safely. We take a trip to the jungle and cut off bamboo branches that have already been knocked down by elephants and find other plant life that might be interesting. We then snatch up bundles of elephant grass and banana leaves. From there we head to the elephant kitchen and find various fruits and veg that can also be stuffed into the boxes and tires.

Now it is time to have fun and get creative!

We figure out unique ways to stuff the tires and place and hang things in the shelters that will generate interest without being dangerous. Our most important recipient of enrichment suprises is Chang Yim. At the end of the day, Chang Yim never wants to go back to the shelter and it often takes lots of excess food and cajoling to get him in. We are trying to make it so that returning to his shelter is a positive thing and he is eager to do so. He has had suprises waiting for him for the last three days, each day with less hesitation upon entering. Yesterday, he rushed in and went right to his enrichment eagerly. The success was such that he was not even interested in the food that the mahouts were carrying, instead he jumped right into busily deconstructing his toy.

Hope and Jungle Boy each get a tire stuffed with low calorie surprises. At the moment, we have been lucky to have cucumber in the elephant kitchen. The boys love cucumber and they can eat as much of it as they want, so we have taken advantage of this fact. Some of our elephants with poor digestion get their watermelon peeled … we pack the watermelon rind into tires and seal them with banana leaves for the boys as well. They are a good source of fiber, cool and refreshing as well as a healthy treat.

The volunteers who have been involved in the creation of the enrichment have enjoyed themselves greatly. This is a fun activity with a great pay off. It is very rewarding to deliver the tires to the elephants and observe how they react to them… but the best part is watching Chang Yim enter his shelter to discover what is waiting for him!