At just six-months-old Asian calf Kanlaya has already grown to 300 kilograms.
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Kanlaya, who is the calf of second-time mother Porntip, was born on June 15 at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
Keeper Dee Ellery said she was growing well and becoming strong.
“She’s actually started taking on solid foods at the moment, which is great for keepers because we can start doing her interactions and training as well. She’s taking apples and banana mostly at the moment which means she’ll come up to us for treats,” Ms Ellery said.
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The keepers have also started her training by introducing her to a clicker. Their morning bath routine and the clicker helps the keepers check the elephants eyes and their mouth. They keepers also teach the elephants to present their ears and hold it, which allows them to easily take blood in the future.
“By doing those things it’s allowing us to build that relationship with them too,” Ms Ellery said.
Kanlaya is the second Asian elephant calf to be born at Dubbo zoo. Sabai, her cousin, was born two years ago.
“Originally when Kanlaya was quite small she wasn’t too sure about Sabai, she was always under mum’s legs looking for protection,” Ms Ellery said.
“She’s definitely venturing out lot more now that she’s getting older and Sabai is really great with her, he’s very gentle. He actually lays on the ground so they can rumble and tussle at her level which is actually pretty cute.
“He’s experiencing what it’s like to have another calf to pay with because for the first year-and-a-half he didn’t have a younger calf, he only had mums to play with so it’s really great for him.”
The Asian elephants love the water and as the weather continues to heat up Ms Ellery said they would make use of the pools in the exhibits.
“If it’s a really hot day we come out and turn sprinklers or hoses on for them. They love swimming and they also love to mud wallow,” she said.
“Throughout their exhibits there’s plenty of mud around which protects them from the sun and protects them from insects as well.”