What fun it has been for Care Staff to watch Nosey develop natural elephant behaviors as she continues to explore her Sanctuary habitat. This winter, staff report Nosey has dug two deep mud holes on her own and is pushing down lots of trees... they say she is growing in confidence and beginning to work on pushing down the bigger trees.
Everyone eagerly waits for end of day when they know Nosey will appear behind the barn with a new souvenir from the day’s adventures...it is most often a large log or piece of bark. She shows off a bit by tossing the logs around and hoisting them high in the air, propped on her tusks. Sometimes she playfully drops them on her back and spins underneath while kicking her legs. She strips off the bark to make long ribbons that she tosses around and throws on her back. Staff remember that on arrival Nosey didn’t appear to know about stripping the bark from a log and always chose the smallest twigs to chew on. It is exciting to see her interacting with her surroundings and exhibiting natural elephant behaviors.
Recently, Nosey was seen choosing to venture into some of the steeper valleys and on a rainy day, she went to the bottom corner of her habitat where she then chose the steepest trail to climb. The ground was wet and slippery and to her Caregivers’ surprise, they watched as Nosey chose to get down on her front knees and pull herself up the hill with her trunk while pushing with her back legs rather than walking back an easier path. Care Staff reported that Nosey appeared to be pleased with herself when she got to the top and did a quick spin to look at where she had come from.
In the evening, on her return to the barn, Nosey has been very enthusiastic about finding new hanging enrichment items. Care Staff frequently hang large logs, Christmas trees, barrels, and hay feeders that Nosey will bump around with her head and scratch her back with. Sometimes when Caregivers arrive in the morning, Nosey will move from stall to stall, bumping each item with her head and trumpeting and spinning for several minutes.....as to welcome them back to work for a new day.