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A Storied Life - Sample and Subscribe Here!
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Here's a sample of one of my Zoo Stories about Swarna, my favourite elephant.
Sweet Swarna, My Favorite Elephant
This is the story of a beautiful elephant encounter that still brings tears to my eyes 30 years on.
Walking ferrets, teaching classes about dinosaurs to pint-sized paleontologists, bathing elephants, checking to see if a Lowland Gorilla was in labour at 1 a.m...the experiences I had as a six year volunteer at The Calgary Zoo in the 90's were so tremendous, they are a highlight of my life.
Today I'll tell you about the Sri Lankan elephants that were at the zoo, that are now at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, D.C. I love looking in on them on the Smithsonian Zoo website and their wonderful live elephant cam here: Smithsonian Elephant Cam
The Calgary Zoo made the decision to move their four Sri-Lankan elephants based on several factors including the opportunity to be part of a larger herd.
In the 90's, every Thursday morning I went into the zoo early to help the keepers bath the elephants. The docent training at the zoo was fairly intense and took 14 weeks. And, when you went to specific areas you were required to take further training. This included working with the elephants.
They are the most extraordinary beings, forming deep relationships with each other, communicating with low rumbles sometimes out of range of human ears. They do have extraordinary memories, recognizing elephants and people they knew decades earlier. Some elephants even pick up sticks and draw in dirt, as was the case with Kamala, the matriarch of the Calgary Zoo herd.
Kamala loved to paint, and it was fascinating to watch her choose her colours. The keepers offered her a large palette with multiple colours on pre-loaded brushes.
She would pick up a brush, dip it in colour and swoop it across her canvas and drop it in a bucket. Then she would be offered a new brush and would hover her trunk over the palette, trying to make a choice. Sometimes, she would pause for a few seconds, move onto another colour and choose that. Or she would go back to the first colour.
The elephant I had the most contact with was a female younger than Kamala. I washed Swarna every Thursday morning and participated in some other enrichment encounters with her. She was a very sweet personality, quiet and easy going.
One of my most precious memories of Swarna occurred after I had been absent from the zoo for six months. My first day back, my first stop was the elephant house, I couldn't wait to see them again!
I walked in, there was a fair-sized crowd there but not jam packed. I looked at which elephants were inside, and there was Swarna, at the other end of the building. My heart just swelled when I saw her and I could feel a big goofy grin spread across my face. I wanted to run to her but she beat me to it.
As soon as I entered, Swarna spied me and gave an ear blasting trumpet that made everybody jump. She hurried across the big building, trumpeting, and flapping her ears all the way. Honestly, I didn't expect that at all, and remembering it brings tears to my eyes to this day.
She came to me, reaching her trunk out. I couldn't touch her across the moat. I wanted so badly to give her a big hug, which I did later when I went back with one of the keepers for a visit. I got a big elephant kiss from this sweet gentle giant.
Everybody in the building was turning toward us, asking me questions. I explained I used to see her a lot but was gone for six months.
The visitors were really surprised she would react that way and I talked to them for a bit about the extraordinary memories they have, the complex social structure and the deep friendships and bonds they make.
I'm so happy they are still together, and now with a larger herd and a bigger outdoor facility for them that includes 24 hour access to a lovely water pond.
If you ever are in Alberta, a visit to The Calgary Zoo, an amazing conservation facility known world-wide for helping to save highly endangered species like whooping crane, Sri Lankan elephants, Western Lowland gorillas and more, is a must. Check it out here: Wilder Institute Calgary Zoo