The long-awaited debut of one of the St. Louis Zoo’s biggest babies is just around the corner. Keepers say Jet, the Asian Elephant calf born at the zoo through artificial insemination in November, is preparing to enter the public-facing portions of his herd’s habitats in the coming days.
“He is a very special little guy, whether he knows it or not,” said Katie Sipra, a keeper at River’s Edge at the St. Louis Zoo, who’s borne witness to his toddler-like running, playing and exploring.
In line with typical toddler care — even one who weighs more than 500 pounds – Jet’s entire keeper team has been watching for certain signs of progress in the lead up to his introduction. Here are five milestones Jet has reached before stepping into the public eye.
Bonding with mom
The months leading up to his birth meant frequent medical check-ins for mom Jade, who, in a St. Louis Zoo first, conceived via artificial insemination. Beginning in the fall, that included regularly watching for signs that labor was imminent; that process can move along relatively quickly after a pregnancy lasting around two years.
But once labor began, the team kept its distance and let Jade take charge of her own delivery and first several weeks of Jet’s care, monitoring from afar with little intervention.
“There's a lot of check-ins and a lot of conversations,” said Dr. Chris Hanley, director of animal health at the zoo, in November. “But we also want to make sure that mom, especially when it's a first-time mom like Jade, has a chance to bond with the baby. That's so critical in any species.”
It was several weeks before the zoo was able to log a weight on their youngest new resident: 262 pounds.
Forming keeper relationships
Stepping on the scale was the first of Jet’s “tricks,” which are really a series of training commands the elephants in the zoo’s care are taught to facilitate their safety and wellness checks.
He spends time about twice a day learning and reinforcing skills including lifting his feet, raising his trunk and opening his mouth, and turning to present one side or another.
Sipra said these interactions also help reinforce the connection between the animals and the humans they are likely to rely on for years to come.
“Elephants are very social creatures. They're social with each other, but they're also social with us keepers,” said Sipra. “We love them. We hope they love us, too, and we do everything we can to make sure that they're having the best life possible.”
Sampling sweet — and stinky — snacks
Most of his nutrition comes from nursing from his mom, but now Jet’s teeth are coming in, and he’s starting to be able to eat some more solid food. His favorite items include soft fruits such as grapes and bananas — and feces.
“Baby elephants will naturally eat their mother's poop or poop from other elephants in the herd,” said Sipra, adding that he actually prefers the droppings of his “auntie” Sri, an unrelated older female elephant in the herd who’s been especially helpful as Jade entered motherhood.
“It is extremely important for him the bacteria that can be found in their poop, or their boluses. Once he eats that, it gets into his system, and that's really a part of keeping him healthy,” she said. “It's a little strange to watch, but it's good for him.”
Meeting the rest of his herd
First-time mom Jade has plenty of support from her herd, which includes five other Asian elephants living in the zoo, but keepers have taken care to introduce the little one to his female relatives.
“It is a slow process, and we do it in multiple steps,” explained Sipra. It starts with a door crack, then introductions across metal mesh or bollards. “We're monitoring the situation, and when we feel like they're comfortable with each other and there's no trunk swinging out, or anyone's trying to kick each other, then we'll introduce them to each other physically.”
Jet is the first male elephant added to the herd since his grandfather Raja was born at the zoo more than 30 years ago. Male elephants tend to be more solitary, so keepers said introducing him to his Raja would be a bit more precarious — and may or may not happen before Raja moves to Columbus in the coming months.
While Jet has many more years ahead in St. Louis before any similar plans would be made, he is also expected to participate in the national species survival plan, an effort to breed more Asian elephants for conservation purposes.
“Just knowing that there is another male in the general Asian elephant population is hugely important,” said Sipra.
Surveying his habitats
Since his birth, Jet and Jade have spent their time largely secluded, bonding in an area of the zoo called the Elephant Woods. As he prepares to enter the public-facing portions of the River’s Edge Asian elephant habitats, Sipra describes a sort of “baby-proofing” process to ensure he can navigate them safely, planting orange flags around potentially dangerous or delicate areas of the enclosures. That includes the safety wires around the edge of the space to keep the animals and zoo visitors secure.
“There have been a few instances where he's ignored them, but he figures out that he's not supposed to be there pretty quickly, and then runs to mom,” said Sipra. “When he was first introduced to this [Elephant Woods] habitat, there were orange flags everywhere, and that was only a few weeks ago. He's already doing so well out here that we don't need the flagging.”
The spunky young elephant has also developed a penchant for dragging his face and trunk into the ground, trying to pick up rocks, and scaling piles of logs, as captured in a recent video on the St. Louis Zoo’s social media accounts.
As a resident of a zoo that sees millions of visitors each year, his upbringing also includes getting used to the sounds of crowds, whistling trains and other aspects of city life. Keepers said he seems well adjusted and quickly adaptable.
The turbulent spring weather has inhibited some progress in introducing new habitats, and the care team has had to make decisions on a nearly day-by-day basis when it comes to expanding Jet’s horizons.
When Jet eventually does make his official debut — “sooner rather than later,” said Sipra — he will initially spend a few hours at a time in the public-facing environments each day. Sipra anticipates it won’t take long for Jet to become a visitor favorite, well worth the wait.
“He's just so smart, and he's figuring everything out very quickly,” she said. “He’s adorable.”
