Babe, Zina and Sophie — or as their caretakers sometimes call them, Big Head, Tiny and Sluffy — make up the elephant trio at the Little Rock Zoo. All of the girls are geriatric Asian elephants, and they’re starting to feel the pains of aging. Especially Sophie.
About seven years ago, Sophie, 54, was diagnosed with an open pyometra, a uterine infection that can develop after giving birth. But Sophie has never had a baby, and veterinarians aren’t sure how she got in this situation. The uncertainty has left zoo officials unsure how close to death Sophie could be, and they are carefully tracking her health. In addition to the infection, Sophie has arthritis in her knees and feet that makes her walk like she has a peg leg.
Caring for an 8,000-pound elephant requires ingenuity. Sophie needs a variety of daily medications, which are snuck into her food and sometimes supplemented with treats; she likes Skittles. A large 20-gauge needle is used to take blood from a soft part in her ear weekly, and the zoo’s veterinarian crew occasionally administers cold laser therapy to reduce inflammation and electromagnetic field therapy to promote healing. A portable X-ray and ultrasound machine also make it possible to examine Sophie at her enclosure, rather than transfer her to the comparably small hospital space.
Though specific care is on a schedule, veterinarian Sara Stoneburg said she also relies on dispatches from the elephants’ keepers, an experienced group of five who interact with the animals daily and can pick up on their nuances.
Elephant exercise
Caring for a big animal is a big job. Elephant Manager Kristin Grove, leader of the caretaker team, has been working with Babe, Zina and Sophie for 11 years.
“I can’t tell you how many nights of sleep I’ve lost over the years because of [Sophie],” Grove, 37, said. “I literally slept in the barn for up to a week at a time when she was sick. I don’t think people realize the dedication. These animals are like our family to us. I see them sometimes more than I see my own family.”
The elephants live, sleep and play in their animal house near the Café Africa restaurant in the zoo. The modern structure that visitors see was constructed over a historic giraffe-style stone building that still stands today. Inside, donated car wash bristle brushes stand vertically for the elephants to scratch their bodies with ease, and hay dangles in contraptions from the ceiling to encourage active eating throughout the night. The floor is made partly of rubber so it’s softer on the elephants’ joints.
The barn is big enough to comfortably fit three elephants, a storage room full of tools and hay, a moderately sized office decorated with original elephant art, and a bathroom for the people. A safe behind the desk also holds trimmed-off pieces of elephant tusks and old teeth, which the team uses for educational purposes.
Work at the elephant barn kicks off early with daily baths administered with long brooms and a hose, and cleaning the enclosure of its elephant-sized piles of poop. Medicines come after the barn is clean, followed by a heaping breakfast of hay. While the animals are still inside, the zookeepers arrange enrichment toys like branches, piles of sand and old tires out in the yard. They also occasionally hide some goodies, like pumpkins, for the girls to hunt, play with and eat. Once the caretakers have cleared the yard, the elephants are let outside.
While the caretakers have obvious affection for their charges, they have a healthy dose of caution, too. Aside from the animals being significantly larger than their human companions, the elephants have very strong trunks. Over a decade ago, the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums set standards for elephant management and care, which included separating the caretakers from the animals. Humans should never be enclosed with an elephant, according to the standards.
And sometimes, elephants shouldn’t be enclosed with each other, either. The elephant yard is split into two sections, because while Sophie and Babe get along just fine, Sophie doesn’t get along well with Zina.
“We’ve found that they actually learned to enjoy their alone time because Babe steals all the snacks,” Grove said. “When Sophie gets her time to herself, she gets all the enrichment toys, she gets all the snacks to herself and she doesn’t have to compete with anybody.”
To keep the girls active, the crew leads several sessions of elephant exercise throughout the day. The girls are encouraged to walk laps around the yard, and they participate in “elephant yoga” to stretch out their legs and abdomens.
On a sunny day in mid-November, caretaker Chris Sauder wielded a pole with a tennis ball attached to its end and instructed Sophie to meet the target with her feet. Sauder moved the pole around her body, prompting Sophie to meet it at varying heights for food rewards. Every time she met the target, Sophie snarfed up a dog treat and left Sauder’s hand covered in elephant slobber.
It’s clear the pair have established trust, and Sauder seems used to the slobber. He tosses a few dog cookies to the ground and warns that no one should ever bend down and pick up a treat that’s been dropped. “We don’t want you to headbutt the elephant,” Sauder said.
The two continued their dance for several minutes, and Sophie occasionally lifted two legs at once — an ultimate display of her balance. She also positioned herself in a proper elephant version of downward-facing dog. The stretching keeps Sophie limber.
Having a human-to-elephant interaction is beneficial for everyone involved, Grove said. Being surrounded by new people and smells keeps the animals alert and learning, and it encourages people to care more about conservation.
“We always brag about Sophie [and a] summer where she was fed by over 650 kids,” Grove said. “While that was very rewarding for her, you’ve also got 650 kids that had an experience that they may never get before. It’s 650 kids that are going to care a little bit more about elephants and conservation because they got to meet one pretty close. … We firmly believe that if you have a one-on-one interaction with an animal, you’re gonna care just that little bit more about it, rather than just seeing it on TV.”
Health and loss
The quality of life of the animals is the most important factor for the vet staff at the Little Rock Zoo, Stoneburg said. In some cases, the crew may have to weigh if death is a better option than keeping an animal alive through extended periods of pain.
“Our role is not to maintain an animal until they’re on death’s door,” Stoneburg said. “We don’t want to do that. We want them to have a good quality of life.”
The vet’s office is prepared for small tasks like distributing the appropriate medicines, dental work, quarantining a tortoise and removing the eye of a duck. It’s also prepared for more dangerous endeavors like supplying oxygen to a lion during surgery, something that’s creatively accomplished using a large plastic flower pot. The office has a sterile operating room fit with fluid pumps, catheter equipment and the gear for handling a 500-pound animal.
Because the elephants are significantly larger than the vet’s office can accommodate, the zoo also has plenty of portable equipment. Sophie is due for a uterine exam about every five years, and zoo staff calls in a specialist to complete the rectal procedure. A contraption called an “elephant restraint device,” which is similar to a cattle chute, is put in place while Sophie snacks on treats and the professionals take X-rays. She’s expected to have the exam this spring.
The zoo conducts annual wellness exams for all of the animals, Zoo Director Susan Altrui said. While additional and routine care comes with an increased cost for treatments, it means health issues are identified before they become fatal.
“[The decisions] are very difficult,” Altrui said. “We make them as a team; as an animal health team. They’re not easy. They’re difficult, and a lot of thought goes into them.”
Elephants grieve, and when Sophie or one of the other elephants dies, their body will stay in the enclosure for a short time. Grove said examining the body will help the elephants get closure. When this happens, the zoo will likely be closed to the public, she said.
After death, the zoo’s vet team completes a necropsy and examines the organs for cancers or other viruses. Parts of the organs are then sent out for research purposes, and the Little Rock Zoo withholds parts of the animals’ tissue.
“Even in death, those animals are helping us learn about these species,” Stoneburg said.