November 28, 2025 • 25 mins
This week Marco is visiting Elephant Valley to learn all about the world’s largest land mammal. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is home to eight elephants, and they are very social animals! These intelligent mammals are special in the way they interact with each other and our care specialists. Tune in to hear about their social dynamics and learn more about the new and improved Elephant Valley.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Ruby. What does this world?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A Marco went and this is Amazing Wildlife where we
explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world and
uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast is in production with Iheartradios,
Ruby Studio and San Diego Zoo Wild Leffe Alliance, an
international nonprofit conservation organization which oversees the San Diego Zoo
and the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Ooh, friends, I.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Know what you're thinking. Yeah, I'm at the Safari Park again.
I know I gotta get down to the zoo. But
there's a lot of things going on. You know, we
talked gorillas before, you know, beautiful forest environment see dispersers.
But you know what, everyone, we're gonna stay in Africa
and we're gonna talk about another very well known, I believe,
very popular mammal species from Africa. Before we get into that,
(00:57):
you know, we've got a reference to a human being
that's sending in front of me right now.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So, amigo, do me a favor.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Could you tell me your name and what you do
here at the Safari Park.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Hi, everybody, I'm Nick.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
I'm one of the senior wildlife care specialists here at
the Safari Park and I work with our African elephant heard.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh, that's excellent. Now, I always assume like people know
who elephants are. Sometimes in other episodes of Megal like, oh,
could you describe your animal? I'm assuming most people in
the world know what an elephant is, right, but maybe
could you do me solid because I had this conversation
yesterday with non animal people and surprise at the categories
or a species of elephants that we have on the planet,
the three, right, So can you one? Let's pretend there's
(01:35):
a little kid right now listening, friend who doesn't even
know what an elephant is, So can you describe it
for me?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And what makes them so unique?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Well, they are the world's largest land animal, and they've
got some really wrinkly rough skin. They've got a long nose,
great big ears, bigger than probably the size of your car.
Certainly it's probably heavier than a lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Your cars out there.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Oh, man, I bet.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
And they make a great big loud tr bit and
noise when they're super excited.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Oh, it's a really cool and Nittaly I heard one before.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I was one morning going through the park and joining
my coffee and there was an elephant forting a little
bit and did a trumpeting sound and in Italy I
almost filled my coffee because it's quite a unique sound.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And so yesterday nick I was talking to someone from
pr Omegan and we were just discussing about African savanna
elephants and the other two categories. Can you describe, Like
we're in the planet right now, naturally in the wild,
would you find those three elephant species.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
So we have the African savannah or the bush elephant,
which is mostly found in the savannah parts of central
eastern western Africa.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Savannah, you're talking like grasslands, right, like, not super bushy, right.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Like tall beige grasses okay, okay, a random tree here
or there, okay. And then in central Africa, in the
dense forest, we have the African forest elephant, which is
a much smaller We used to think it was a
subspecies of African elephant. We now know it's its own
species entirely.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Oh, I know, that's a completely separate.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Completely separate. Yeah, they're much smaller, they're a darker brown color.
They have great big ears too, just like their cousins,
but their ears are more rounded. So if you use
your imagination and you think about what the shape or
the outline of the continent of Africa looks like the
shape or the outline is kind of similar to the
(03:24):
outline of our elephant's ears, the Savannah elephant Savannah, but
the African forest elephant's ears are more rounded. You look
at their ear outline not quite the same shape.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
As oh really, yeah, okay, because I was trying to
describe this to Amagan yesterday as well.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
But the other group of eagle is my personal favorite,
the Asian elephant. Yeah, describe the Asian for us.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
So there are several subspecies. They're found throughout Southeast Asia.
They're a little bit smaller than the African elephant. There's
a lot of differences, but the thing that people notice
the most right off the bat is probably also having
to do with their ears. So their ears are probably
a little less than half the size of the African elephant. Yeah,
and a lot of them have kind of some pink freckling,
(04:05):
a different kind of skin pigmentation that African elephants don't
typically have a little like coloring.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Alth almost sometimes seem a little pinkish hue from time
to time.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, the front of their face and their ears will
oftentimes look pink and they'll have these tiny little dots
and it look like someone painted on their face.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
But they're just kind of like freckles.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Oh I love that. Am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Because in my memory I love how fuzzy their heads
are so a little more like hair.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Right, some of them are quite fuzzy.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
It's kind of like wearing a two page.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Some of them are very hairy. All elephants have hair.
Africans as well, and our African elephants some of them.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Are a little bit hairier than others. Oh really, yeah, think.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
They've never been close enough to notice that.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So even the African savannah elephant has some hair on.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
We have two in particular, Cosey and Zuli, who in
the right sunlight look like redheads.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh man, I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Okay, well, since you mentioned the names, that was actually
gonna be my other question. You know, so here we're
at the Safari Park, right, and you can find ets
were experienced elephants at the San Diego Zoo and the
Safari Park, of course. But before I kind of ask
you about the differences of the two, you know, can
you tell me the personalities and the number of elephants
out are living here at the Safari Park.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Yeah, we currently have a total of eight. We've got
seven females and one male. Our one male is Zuli
Zuli and he's seven. His birthday was August twelfth. He's
our second youngest. Our youngest youngest is Makaiah, his half sister,
and she's also seven. She was born six weeks after
he was on September twenty sixth.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Oh really, Oh that's great. And then adult females, right.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
The rest are all females. So yeah, we've got our
three adult females. Swazi who's our matriarch. She's the one
in charge, our leader, and then Indulah is number two
in charge, and then I'mgani is number three.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
And number three. Oh well, there's like you got him categorized.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
There's very much a pecking order, a dominance, hierarchy.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Okay, yeah, is.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
It sort of like I'm thinking, like a conversation Rick
and I had with meerkats with Wildlife care of Staff,
almost like they need to be together.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
So there's a lot of dynamics of being a social animal, right, a.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Lot of dynamics, and for the most part they are
all together, always together just about but like any family,
they like their time apart. Sometimes sometimes they need their space,
and that happens.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And that's normal. Even in the wild.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
Herds can be upwards to fifty individuals and sometimes it
just depends on the family grouping, and sometimes it'll be
as small as ten individuals. But with bigger groups, they'll
break off. They'll go eat, they'll go drink, they'll go
do their own thing, and then they come back together.
And that's kind of how our herd is too. For
the most part, they're all together at night. They have
(06:36):
access to each other. We have two main habitats that
they always have access to go back and forth. But
even we've noticed they will separate themselves. They like to
have time apart. They like to not have to compete
for food or for water heather resources, and we see
that the different family groupings. They'll shuffle around, but there
are individuals that like to spend more time with each
(06:58):
other than others.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Oh yeah, man, I mean, as they're talking, it makes
me think I grew up with brothers, you know. And
the food thing really resonated because people laugh at me.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Like when I eat, I don't really talk. Friend, I like, I.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Throw the food in my mouth as fast as I can,
and people are asking, like Marco, just chill out, like
let the conversation fold, But I tell them I'm too
used to like competing with food and my brothers just
having it put it down right.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I'm the oldest of three boys, save Hi five for
the older brothers, and if you don't eat fast enough,
you don't get a second exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
So there's I would imagine, like a familia herd environment.
There's all these little nuances, Like to your point, like
sometimes they're together, but then sometimes they need their space.
I had this conversation with Sam the other day about gorillas,
and the same idea with franklen Monroe. They play together,
they have access to each other, but they need some
space alone and tune off. And to your point too,
maybe they just want to hang out with someone else
(07:50):
in their herd besides that same individual over and over again.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, they're very family oriented, and I don't think I've
ever seen a special or a documentary on TV that
doesn't focus on that. But what those specials oftentimes don't
focus on is, like any family, they just sometimes don't
want to be with that individual or sometimes they know, oh,
if I'm close to this individual, who's maybe more dominant
than me.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I gotta be on my a game around them. I
gotta not steal food.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
It makes you when my teas and my grandma, I'll
believe that out of my house.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I have to kind of want put on the better clothes,
you know. Watch my manner's a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
So or Cosey, for example, who's our eldest teenager. She's nineteen.
She's kind of like the lead babysitter, the lead babysitter,
so she oftentimes is looking after her younger sister Makaiah
and her half younger brother, Zulie. Now Zuli's mom is
in Doula, and Doula is more dominant.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Than Cosey's mom.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Oh, So Cosey knows that if I spend time with
Zulie and I take care of him and I let
him eat from what I'm eating from, I might be
gaining a little bit of points with his mom, And
maybe I can spend more time next to and Doula
and not have to worry that I'm doing something wrong
or that I can't eat from the same.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Food that she's eating from.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
So Cosey in particular is very strategic and very smart
and knows how to play the family politics.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know, to me that just means one, that's amazing,
thank you for spilling the tea a little bit into
the dynamics. But also it's a reminder how intelligent elephants are. Right,
It's sort of a loose thing that I say sometimes
depending how you want to categorize intelligence. Right when people
are asking Marco, what's some of the intelligent animals in
the world, But I preface it with always every animal
(09:35):
is perfectly adapted for their habitat, you know, so you
can gauge intelligence differently from like like a magpie who
can remember just hundreds and hundreds of different locations for
an eight corner, a seat, that recess.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Right, or again the elephant the social dynamics. So in
your opinion, like, do you think an elephant is smart?
Are they intelligent?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Very?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
And I'm no brain scientists, Like I haven't studied brains.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I don't remember what I learned in college from all that.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
But okay, what I can tell you is that a
full grown elephant's brain is about the size of a basketball.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Most people know how big.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
A basketball is, and our brains. We mostly know what
our brains look like. Lots of wrinkles and folds, and
elephants have that too, and we know that the wrinkleier
a brain is, the more folds it has. Typically we
would say that's higher intelligence. But like back what you said,
every animal is as as intelligent as it needs to
(10:25):
be to survive. We have to adapt all that stuff.
But from a brain standpoint, we know they're very intelligent.
We also know that they're one of the few animals
that have self recognition, so they can look in a
mirror and know they're looking at themselves. Whereas you know
a lot of dogs and cats at home they see
themselves in a mirror and they jump and they freak out.
Elephants we know, based off of studies that have been
(10:47):
done in the past, that they can know that they're
looking at themselves.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, I've actually seen a similar study, but it was
chimpanzee versus maybe a smaller primate species a monkey.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Yeah, primates, monkeys and apes. I think dolphins have that
capability too. Don't quote me on that for sure, but yeah,
self recognition is something that I think scientists or zoologists
use as a way to measure higher intelligence. But they
are incredibly smart. They have great memories, their ability to
problem solve and to remember and to just kind of
(11:17):
figure out what it is that I'm asking or what
my coworkers are asking. If we're doing maybe a more
challenging behavior, something that we need for their husbandry, for
their well being, and if it's something new or something
a little bit more difficult or more challenging. The moment
that they get it, the moment that that light switch
goes on and they have that aha moment, you can
almost see it, not in their faces, but you see
(11:40):
it in their body language, and you see it like, yeah,
like this is what you want, this is what you're asking.
And sometimes it's got nothing to do with them and
everything to do with us, and like what am I
doing wrong? Or what am I not communicating? What is
my body language saying? What is my tone of voice?
You know, they're so smart. Sometimes they pick up on
stuff that we don't even know we're doing. And we
(12:01):
inadvertently trained something that we didn't mean to train, but
we had no idea that that's what they.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Were picking up on.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
So they're very good with the small nuances you just
in our tone of voice, our body language.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
On point right, very very much.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I mean I know the listeners where like I have
a behavior background it honestly, besides the bird, which everyone
knows I love so much, admittedly.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
A meg, it was for me.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Gorillas and elephants have always been on my list of
animals to have that experience of training and teaching different
nuance behaviors. Right, So definitely jealous of your position to
what you do. I was hearing you guys on the
radio two a little earlier when I was waiting for
you to come down for this.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Interview, that it's a whole team dynamics.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Right, So it's you and a whole team of human
beings working with the herd side by side.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Right, It's a lot of back and forth communication.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah, sure, communication is key for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
And we have to be on our A game because
they're always on their A games, so they're watching us
and checking to see what it is that we are
asking of them. So we always have to be on
our A game with them.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yeah, And there's certain I would say challenges working alongside wildlife,
like an elephant as an example, and so by that
I mean I'm thinking like protected contact as an example. Right,
So some of our listeners may not be aware, but
there's certain animals kids listening right now, that we're not
going to go into a habitat with a lion or
an elephant or a cassowary as an example, right, So
that gives you a certain challenge that maybe you can't
(13:21):
interact with a.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Certain species like you normally would.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Maybe I'm going to say gazelle as an example, or
another species that you can enter the habitat, right, So,
can you speak a little about that, like what makes
Elephant Valley unique and challenging and with working with the
herd and being a trainer of a wildlife care specialist.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well, to go to the first part of that question.
So for our listeners, protective contact means that we just
don't share the same space. Yeah, Now, that doesn't mean
that we're not close to them and that we're not
touching them, because I am there is a tactile, right,
I am closer to the elephants every day than I
am to you right now, you know, face to face
touching them, But there's always going to be some sort
of safety barrier between us and them, right, And it
(14:00):
allows for not only my safety the elephants safety, but
it creates a working relationship based off of trust. So
the elephants have a certain expectation of me, I have
a certain expectation of them, and we know that we
don't cross that boundary, that line, that barrier, and so
it's what allows us to let them know, Hey, this
(14:21):
is what you can expect of me. I'm not going
to put you in danger. I'm not going to do
something to scare you.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like you know that.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I'm right here, You're right there, everything's good, We're all good.
The great thing about Elephant Valley is that people are
going to be able to get closer to elephants here
at this facility than they've ever been able to get to.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Right, if you're referencing it's Elephant Valley, of course, but
you and I are kind of hinting at the new
it improved, Right, So it's going to be happening for
listeners sometime next year early next year, is that we're thinking, right,
don't want to throw.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Out a date yet, because things get happened.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
But that was another question in mind that they really
wanted to ask you because they know listeners are like
dying to know. So I want a little chiefe man,
little tea tell me like some of the highlights. In
your opinion, that's going to make this experience grander and
maybe a little more intimate for a guest here at
Elephant Valley.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Yeah, so it's been years that people have been able
to get this close to elephants here at the Safari Park.
It's been a long long time, and Elephant Valley is
going to provide multiple location spots for people to get.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
So close, so much closer.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
And the great thing that zoos in general, I think
provide is the ability for people to create memories and
moments and shared experiences because you can flip through books
and magazines and watch every YouTube video or watch every
documentary you can about elephants or gorillas or birds or
any animals that you love. But it's not quite the
(15:44):
same thing as being close enough to smell them, which
you will be.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Able to do.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I mean, I mean to talk about gorilla smell you
know last episode, but elephants definitely have a smell.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I don't smell it anymore.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I'm used to it, but you're done with that.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
There is a potency there, and you'll be close enough
to be able to do that. You know, we were
talking earlier about trumpets yeah, that's a loud noise. It's
actually one of the vocalizations we hear, probably the least.
We hear a lot of other vocalizations a lot more
that are oftentimes much more quiet.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
The deeper rumbles I really love.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
A rumble is a pretty low we say a loud
cap per, we say like an engine.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Kind of like I'm feeling cozy and feeling good.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, but when you're really close, not only are you
hearing it, you're feeling it. When I'm face to face
and doulah rumbles, I almost feel my rib cage vibrate.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
But I mean, I've brought this up with elephants, by
the way, with castlewarries, because when I was in that habitat,
I had one of the males vocalized next to me,
and I'm sure you're going to say it. You know,
elephants are vocals. Some of them are so low right,
humans can't hear.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
A lot of them.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And with cast where I could feel it in my
rib cage, which is really interesting.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I've never heard of castlewear. I've heard EMUs and they
make like a little of drum right.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Yeah, yeah, maybe the sound team can find that EMU
sound right out to go to play for it's super deep.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
It's like a yeah, and it kind of feels like
a vibration on totally yeah. And the elephants are the same.
So Elephant Valley is going to provide opportunities for people.
They may not necessarily feel that vibration, but they'll certainly
be able to hear these rumbles, these bellows. Sometimes they
even roar, which you know, you think of a roar,
(17:22):
you think of a lion. Their roar doesn't quite sound
like that, but we call it that. And you'll just
be able to get that much closer. You're able to
see the intricate details of the wrinkles on their skin,
or their eyelashes, how long their eyelashes are.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Elephant eyes are gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
They've got beautiful long eyelashes that I have tons of
friends that would kill for those. They're just such beautiful
and unique creatures. And when you are able to get
that close and have that shared moment or that experience,
it makes you want to be a part of the journey,
part of the process of helping them and helping their
counterparts in the wild, and really just wanting to make
(18:01):
more of an effort to be better and sometimes it's
as simple as turning your lights off when you leave
a room, or turning the faucet off when you're brush
your teeth, or recycling.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Those little things add up.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Maybe those things specifically don't help elephants or don't help
these animals, but we're talking bigger pictures, yeah right.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I mean I always tell kids, you know, what can
I do to help out the world, because you know,
sometimes it can be doom and gloom and I'm you know,
doom scrolling on TikTok and seeing all these things. But
I tell them, you know, it's just as easy as
just supporting your accredited zoos and aquariums that are doing
really really good work, right. I mean, last episode I
talked about the Save Carilla program, and there's a lot
of programs we do here as well that not only
benefit the herd here at the Safari Park, but also
(18:38):
our partners right out in Africa too. Can you speak
a little maybe give me like an example, maybe one
or two things that you guys do here, you as
a team of wildlife care specialists at the Safari Park,
and that really help out elephant conservation as a whole.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
So for a few years we were collecting milk samples.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's my favorite. I was hoping to talk about the milks.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
That from our lactating females so Zoos and Makaia when
they were born. Both of their moms were obviously lactating.
As mammals, they have memory milk.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Kids, they're making some mama's milk exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
And so both I'm gani and and Doulah were trained
to basically present their memory to us. Basically it's hard
to describe, but step their leg forward and basically access, yeah,
basically to touch and then to It's very difficult to
milk an elephant.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
You know, I'm just gonna go with you on this one.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
You know, I've never milked a cow, but.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
I can tell you, but I'm sure it's not the same.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
It's not the same.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
It's quite challenging, and we would get very small samples,
like less than a pinky fingernails worth of milk. But
that little drop was super important because we work very
closely with an elephant orphanage in Kenya. The Riteddy elephant
orphanage and poaching is still a real big issue for
elephants in Africa, and what ends up happening is you
(19:54):
have all these babies that have nowhere to go where
they get separated from their family groups, and so.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Which is super sad, right, I mean, and you were
just talking earlier, how solcil these animals are, right, I mean,
how sad would it be if you a little kid
then you swast your mama like what are you gonna do?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Exactly?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
And so Roteddy, along with a couple of other organizations
and orphanages, take in these baby elephants. But the problem
is is that there's no baby formula for elephants, and
so a lot of times they're getting goat's milk with
different supplements added to it, and some babies take to
it and some don't. And so the milk sampling that
we were taking was basically to allow us to figure out, Okay,
(20:29):
Zuli and Makaiah are three weeks old, this is what
is in mom's milk at three weeks old. Then you know,
you might look again two months old. What does mom's
milk look like at two months and so on and
so forth, And we're basically just tracking what a baby
elephant needs depending on the age, and looking at mom's
(20:50):
milk and going okay, these enzymes these proteins, these vitamins, minerals,
all of that. This is what we're seeing in the
milk at what age the calf is and then we
share that information with our partners in Africa, and then
it's up to them to kind of figure out, Okay,
how do we replicate this milk as best we can
with what we have formula wise, And so that's been
(21:13):
a really cool project that we've been a part of
now for a few years. There's still a long way
to go, right, and when you only have a small
sample size of two moms, you know, it's not going
to be as illuminating as if you have multiple females
and different habitats. Those diets are different because diet's going
to play a huge part of that too. You know
what is mom eating and how often is she drinking,
(21:34):
and that's going to change what's in the milkers.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Wow, No, I love that story, Nick, Thank you so
much for sharing it earlier about the way, I heard
a bunch of machinery going on, So I got to
say right now, like, you guys work so hard every
single day.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
I made it took a while back.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I think it was like season three maybe where we
were talking about elephants, and I remember, as a wildlife
care specialist coming into the break room.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
As an example, I could always pick.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
You guys out because you are covered in dirt from
the head to toe.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I'm looking at you right now, just caked in it.
But that is your world of ego.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
You are working hard every day where it could be
over ninety degrees outside it could be thirty degrees, but
you guys are out and about. We're getting a little
closer to the time. But before we end, thank you
for describing Elephant Valley.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
I think I'm.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Most excited what you said, like see the hairs on
the elephants and see the eyes and eyelash as the
experienced guests are going to have.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
But I got to ask you, man, because it's a
lot of work that you guys do every single day.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
You're here super early, late in the evening sometimes depending
on the situation.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But how did you get involved with elephants?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
I mean, did you wake up as a kid and like, oh, man,
I want to work with elephants.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, right away.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
I'm a native San die Again, me too, I really
were up going to the zoo and oh ever, since
I could walk and talk The only thing I've ever
wanted to do was work with elephants and work for
San Diego Zoo Wilife Alliance. Yeah, and for me, I
never had a plan.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
B I always knew that this was what I was
going to do.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I started working for the zoo when I was sixteen,
and I started an education.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Oh I just see it.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, And I worked my way up and some of
it was the right place at the right time and
the right people you knew, and some of it was
just a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication.
And because a lot of people love animals, and a
lot of people think, oh, how cool would it be
to be able to work with lions or pandas or elephants,
And then they get there and they're like, ooh, this
is not for me. You know, you quickly realize my
(23:19):
love for them it has a limit. And you know,
for me, I just always knew that this is what
I wanted.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, I feel that.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I love that story.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Everyone's origin story is always different, Sam from the previous episode,
a completely different story. I love how focused you were,
like this is going to happen as a little kid,
and dude, look at you now you're here at the
safar apart from the rock, and I've known you for
a lot of years now and you're an amazing part
of the team.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How about some elephant knuckles and eagle and this is great.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
You're welcome. Thank you for having me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Thanks man. Oh wow. I was excited about Elephant Valley
coming up the new and.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Improved earlier next year, but I'm even more stoked learning
from Nick all the little subtle nuances. How much more
of an experience is gonna be for guests. It's gonna
be epic and we're not stopping the story there everyone,
I want to share with you more fun highlights are
gonna happen in our new Elephant Valley with the planteed.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah that's right, friends.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
We're gonna stay at the Safari Park and it's all
about plant power, So be sure to stay tuned for
that next episode.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Marco went staywhild.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San
Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing
Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio. Our supervising producer is
Stillan Fagan, and our sound designers are Sierra Spring and
Matt Russell. For more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your
(24:57):
favorite shows. Don't talk Talk
Ruby. What does this world?
Speaker 2 (00:11):
A Marco went and this is Amazing Wildlife where we
explore unique stories of wildlife from around the world and
uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast is in production with Iheartradios,
Ruby Studio and San Diego Zoo Wild Leffe Alliance, an
international nonprofit conservation organization which oversees the San Diego Zoo
and the Safari Park.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Ooh, friends, I.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Know what you're thinking. Yeah, I'm at the Safari Park again.
I know I gotta get down to the zoo. But
there's a lot of things going on. You know, we
talked gorillas before, you know, beautiful forest environment see dispersers.
But you know what, everyone, we're gonna stay in Africa
and we're gonna talk about another very well known, I believe,
very popular mammal species from Africa. Before we get into that,
(00:57):
you know, we've got a reference to a human being
that's sending in front of me right now.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So, amigo, do me a favor.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Could you tell me your name and what you do
here at the Safari Park.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Hi, everybody, I'm Nick.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
I'm one of the senior wildlife care specialists here at
the Safari Park and I work with our African elephant heard.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh, that's excellent. Now, I always assume like people know
who elephants are. Sometimes in other episodes of Megal like, oh,
could you describe your animal? I'm assuming most people in
the world know what an elephant is, right, but maybe
could you do me solid because I had this conversation
yesterday with non animal people and surprise at the categories
or a species of elephants that we have on the planet,
the three, right, So can you one? Let's pretend there's
(01:35):
a little kid right now listening, friend who doesn't even
know what an elephant is, So can you describe it
for me?
Speaker 1 (01:39):
And what makes them so unique?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
Well, they are the world's largest land animal, and they've
got some really wrinkly rough skin. They've got a long nose,
great big ears, bigger than probably the size of your car.
Certainly it's probably heavier than a lot of.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Your cars out there.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Oh, man, I bet.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
And they make a great big loud tr bit and
noise when they're super excited.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Oh, it's a really cool and Nittaly I heard one before.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
I was one morning going through the park and joining
my coffee and there was an elephant forting a little
bit and did a trumpeting sound and in Italy I
almost filled my coffee because it's quite a unique sound.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And so yesterday nick I was talking to someone from
pr Omegan and we were just discussing about African savanna
elephants and the other two categories. Can you describe, Like
we're in the planet right now, naturally in the wild,
would you find those three elephant species.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
So we have the African savannah or the bush elephant,
which is mostly found in the savannah parts of central
eastern western Africa.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Savannah, you're talking like grasslands, right, like, not super bushy, right.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Like tall beige grasses okay, okay, a random tree here
or there, okay. And then in central Africa, in the
dense forest, we have the African forest elephant, which is
a much smaller We used to think it was a
subspecies of African elephant. We now know it's its own
species entirely.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Oh, I know, that's a completely separate.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Completely separate. Yeah, they're much smaller, they're a darker brown color.
They have great big ears too, just like their cousins,
but their ears are more rounded. So if you use
your imagination and you think about what the shape or
the outline of the continent of Africa looks like the
shape or the outline is kind of similar to the
(03:24):
outline of our elephant's ears, the Savannah elephant Savannah, but
the African forest elephant's ears are more rounded. You look
at their ear outline not quite the same shape.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
As oh really, yeah, okay, because I was trying to
describe this to Amagan yesterday as well.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
But the other group of eagle is my personal favorite,
the Asian elephant. Yeah, describe the Asian for us.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
So there are several subspecies. They're found throughout Southeast Asia.
They're a little bit smaller than the African elephant. There's
a lot of differences, but the thing that people notice
the most right off the bat is probably also having
to do with their ears. So their ears are probably
a little less than half the size of the African elephant. Yeah,
and a lot of them have kind of some pink freckling,
(04:05):
a different kind of skin pigmentation that African elephants don't
typically have a little like coloring.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Alth almost sometimes seem a little pinkish hue from time
to time.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, the front of their face and their ears will
oftentimes look pink and they'll have these tiny little dots
and it look like someone painted on their face.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
But they're just kind of like freckles.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Oh I love that. Am I wrong?
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Because in my memory I love how fuzzy their heads
are so a little more like hair.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Right, some of them are quite fuzzy.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
It's kind of like wearing a two page.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Some of them are very hairy. All elephants have hair.
Africans as well, and our African elephants some of them.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Are a little bit hairier than others. Oh really, yeah, think.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
They've never been close enough to notice that.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
So even the African savannah elephant has some hair on.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
We have two in particular, Cosey and Zuli, who in
the right sunlight look like redheads.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh man, I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Okay, well, since you mentioned the names, that was actually
gonna be my other question. You know, so here we're
at the Safari Park, right, and you can find ets
were experienced elephants at the San Diego Zoo and the
Safari Park, of course. But before I kind of ask
you about the differences of the two, you know, can
you tell me the personalities and the number of elephants
out are living here at the Safari Park.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Yeah, we currently have a total of eight. We've got
seven females and one male. Our one male is Zuli
Zuli and he's seven. His birthday was August twelfth. He's
our second youngest. Our youngest youngest is Makaiah, his half sister,
and she's also seven. She was born six weeks after
he was on September twenty sixth.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Oh really, Oh that's great. And then adult females, right.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
The rest are all females. So yeah, we've got our
three adult females. Swazi who's our matriarch. She's the one
in charge, our leader, and then Indulah is number two
in charge, and then I'mgani is number three.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
And number three. Oh well, there's like you got him categorized.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
There's very much a pecking order, a dominance, hierarchy.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Okay, yeah, is.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
It sort of like I'm thinking, like a conversation Rick
and I had with meerkats with Wildlife care of Staff,
almost like they need to be together.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
So there's a lot of dynamics of being a social animal, right, a.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Lot of dynamics, and for the most part they are
all together, always together just about but like any family,
they like their time apart. Sometimes sometimes they need their space,
and that happens.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And that's normal. Even in the wild.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
Herds can be upwards to fifty individuals and sometimes it
just depends on the family grouping, and sometimes it'll be
as small as ten individuals. But with bigger groups, they'll
break off. They'll go eat, they'll go drink, they'll go
do their own thing, and then they come back together.
And that's kind of how our herd is too. For
the most part, they're all together at night. They have
(06:36):
access to each other. We have two main habitats that
they always have access to go back and forth. But
even we've noticed they will separate themselves. They like to
have time apart. They like to not have to compete
for food or for water heather resources, and we see
that the different family groupings. They'll shuffle around, but there
are individuals that like to spend more time with each
(06:58):
other than others.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Oh yeah, man, I mean, as they're talking, it makes
me think I grew up with brothers, you know. And
the food thing really resonated because people laugh at me.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Like when I eat, I don't really talk. Friend, I like, I.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Throw the food in my mouth as fast as I can,
and people are asking, like Marco, just chill out, like
let the conversation fold, But I tell them I'm too
used to like competing with food and my brothers just
having it put it down right.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I'm the oldest of three boys, save Hi five for
the older brothers, and if you don't eat fast enough,
you don't get a second exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
So there's I would imagine, like a familia herd environment.
There's all these little nuances, Like to your point, like
sometimes they're together, but then sometimes they need their space.
I had this conversation with Sam the other day about gorillas,
and the same idea with franklen Monroe. They play together,
they have access to each other, but they need some
space alone and tune off. And to your point too,
maybe they just want to hang out with someone else
(07:50):
in their herd besides that same individual over and over again.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
Yeah, they're very family oriented, and I don't think I've
ever seen a special or a documentary on TV that
doesn't focus on that. But what those specials oftentimes don't
focus on is, like any family, they just sometimes don't
want to be with that individual or sometimes they know, oh,
if I'm close to this individual, who's maybe more dominant
than me.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I gotta be on my a game around them. I
gotta not steal food.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
It makes you when my teas and my grandma, I'll
believe that out of my house.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I have to kind of want put on the better clothes,
you know. Watch my manner's a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
So or Cosey, for example, who's our eldest teenager. She's nineteen.
She's kind of like the lead babysitter, the lead babysitter,
so she oftentimes is looking after her younger sister Makaiah
and her half younger brother, Zulie. Now Zuli's mom is
in Doula, and Doula is more dominant.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Than Cosey's mom.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Oh, So Cosey knows that if I spend time with
Zulie and I take care of him and I let
him eat from what I'm eating from, I might be
gaining a little bit of points with his mom, And
maybe I can spend more time next to and Doula
and not have to worry that I'm doing something wrong
or that I can't eat from the same.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Food that she's eating from.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
So Cosey in particular is very strategic and very smart
and knows how to play the family politics.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know, to me that just means one, that's amazing,
thank you for spilling the tea a little bit into
the dynamics. But also it's a reminder how intelligent elephants are. Right,
It's sort of a loose thing that I say sometimes
depending how you want to categorize intelligence. Right when people
are asking Marco, what's some of the intelligent animals in
the world, But I preface it with always every animal
(09:35):
is perfectly adapted for their habitat, you know, so you
can gauge intelligence differently from like like a magpie who
can remember just hundreds and hundreds of different locations for
an eight corner, a seat, that recess.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Right, or again the elephant the social dynamics. So in
your opinion, like, do you think an elephant is smart?
Are they intelligent?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Very?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
And I'm no brain scientists, Like I haven't studied brains.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
I don't remember what I learned in college from all that.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
But okay, what I can tell you is that a
full grown elephant's brain is about the size of a basketball.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Most people know how big.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
A basketball is, and our brains. We mostly know what
our brains look like. Lots of wrinkles and folds, and
elephants have that too, and we know that the wrinkleier
a brain is, the more folds it has. Typically we
would say that's higher intelligence. But like back what you said,
every animal is as as intelligent as it needs to
(10:25):
be to survive. We have to adapt all that stuff.
But from a brain standpoint, we know they're very intelligent.
We also know that they're one of the few animals
that have self recognition, so they can look in a
mirror and know they're looking at themselves. Whereas you know
a lot of dogs and cats at home they see
themselves in a mirror and they jump and they freak out.
Elephants we know, based off of studies that have been
(10:47):
done in the past, that they can know that they're
looking at themselves.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, I've actually seen a similar study, but it was
chimpanzee versus maybe a smaller primate species a monkey.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Yeah, primates, monkeys and apes. I think dolphins have that
capability too. Don't quote me on that for sure, but yeah,
self recognition is something that I think scientists or zoologists
use as a way to measure higher intelligence. But they
are incredibly smart. They have great memories, their ability to
problem solve and to remember and to just kind of
(11:17):
figure out what it is that I'm asking or what
my coworkers are asking. If we're doing maybe a more
challenging behavior, something that we need for their husbandry, for
their well being, and if it's something new or something
a little bit more difficult or more challenging. The moment
that they get it, the moment that that light switch
goes on and they have that aha moment, you can
almost see it, not in their faces, but you see
(11:40):
it in their body language, and you see it like, yeah,
like this is what you want, this is what you're asking.
And sometimes it's got nothing to do with them and
everything to do with us, and like what am I
doing wrong? Or what am I not communicating? What is
my body language saying? What is my tone of voice?
You know, they're so smart. Sometimes they pick up on
stuff that we don't even know we're doing. And we
(12:01):
inadvertently trained something that we didn't mean to train, but
we had no idea that that's what they.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Were picking up on.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
So they're very good with the small nuances you just
in our tone of voice, our body language.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
On point right, very very much.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I mean I know the listeners where like I have
a behavior background it honestly, besides the bird, which everyone
knows I love so much, admittedly.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
A meg, it was for me.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Gorillas and elephants have always been on my list of
animals to have that experience of training and teaching different
nuance behaviors. Right, So definitely jealous of your position to
what you do. I was hearing you guys on the
radio two a little earlier when I was waiting for
you to come down for this.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Interview, that it's a whole team dynamics.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Right, So it's you and a whole team of human
beings working with the herd side by side.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Right, It's a lot of back and forth communication.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah, sure, communication is key for sure.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
And we have to be on our A game because
they're always on their A games, so they're watching us
and checking to see what it is that we are
asking of them. So we always have to be on
our A game with them.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yeah, And there's certain I would say challenges working alongside wildlife,
like an elephant as an example, and so by that
I mean I'm thinking like protected contact as an example. Right,
So some of our listeners may not be aware, but
there's certain animals kids listening right now, that we're not
going to go into a habitat with a lion or
an elephant or a cassowary as an example, right, So
that gives you a certain challenge that maybe you can't
(13:21):
interact with a.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Certain species like you normally would.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Maybe I'm going to say gazelle as an example, or
another species that you can enter the habitat, right, So,
can you speak a little about that, like what makes
Elephant Valley unique and challenging and with working with the
herd and being a trainer of a wildlife care specialist.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Well, to go to the first part of that question.
So for our listeners, protective contact means that we just
don't share the same space. Yeah, Now, that doesn't mean
that we're not close to them and that we're not
touching them, because I am there is a tactile, right,
I am closer to the elephants every day than I
am to you right now, you know, face to face
touching them, But there's always going to be some sort
of safety barrier between us and them, right, And it
(14:00):
allows for not only my safety the elephants safety, but
it creates a working relationship based off of trust. So
the elephants have a certain expectation of me, I have
a certain expectation of them, and we know that we
don't cross that boundary, that line, that barrier, and so
it's what allows us to let them know, Hey, this
(14:21):
is what you can expect of me. I'm not going
to put you in danger. I'm not going to do
something to scare you.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like you know that.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I'm right here, You're right there, everything's good, We're all good.
The great thing about Elephant Valley is that people are
going to be able to get closer to elephants here
at this facility than they've ever been able to get to.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Right, if you're referencing it's Elephant Valley, of course, but
you and I are kind of hinting at the new
it improved, Right, So it's going to be happening for
listeners sometime next year early next year, is that we're thinking, right,
don't want to throw.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Out a date yet, because things get happened.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
But that was another question in mind that they really
wanted to ask you because they know listeners are like
dying to know. So I want a little chiefe man,
little tea tell me like some of the highlights. In
your opinion, that's going to make this experience grander and
maybe a little more intimate for a guest here at
Elephant Valley.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Yeah, so it's been years that people have been able
to get this close to elephants here at the Safari Park.
It's been a long long time, and Elephant Valley is
going to provide multiple location spots for people to get.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
So close, so much closer.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
And the great thing that zoos in general, I think
provide is the ability for people to create memories and
moments and shared experiences because you can flip through books
and magazines and watch every YouTube video or watch every
documentary you can about elephants or gorillas or birds or
any animals that you love. But it's not quite the
(15:44):
same thing as being close enough to smell them, which
you will be.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Able to do.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
I mean, I mean to talk about gorilla smell you
know last episode, but elephants definitely have a smell.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
I don't smell it anymore.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I'm used to it, but you're done with that.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
There is a potency there, and you'll be close enough
to be able to do that. You know, we were
talking earlier about trumpets yeah, that's a loud noise. It's
actually one of the vocalizations we hear, probably the least.
We hear a lot of other vocalizations a lot more
that are oftentimes much more quiet.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
The deeper rumbles I really love.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
A rumble is a pretty low we say a loud
cap per, we say like an engine.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Kind of like I'm feeling cozy and feeling good.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Yeah, but when you're really close, not only are you
hearing it, you're feeling it. When I'm face to face
and doulah rumbles, I almost feel my rib cage vibrate.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
But I mean, I've brought this up with elephants, by
the way, with castlewarries, because when I was in that habitat,
I had one of the males vocalized next to me,
and I'm sure you're going to say it. You know,
elephants are vocals. Some of them are so low right,
humans can't hear.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
A lot of them.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
And with cast where I could feel it in my
rib cage, which is really interesting.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I've never heard of castlewear. I've heard EMUs and they
make like a little of drum right.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Yeah, yeah, maybe the sound team can find that EMU
sound right out to go to play for it's super deep.
Speaker 4 (17:01):
It's like a yeah, and it kind of feels like
a vibration on totally yeah. And the elephants are the same.
So Elephant Valley is going to provide opportunities for people.
They may not necessarily feel that vibration, but they'll certainly
be able to hear these rumbles, these bellows. Sometimes they
even roar, which you know, you think of a roar,
(17:22):
you think of a lion. Their roar doesn't quite sound
like that, but we call it that. And you'll just
be able to get that much closer. You're able to
see the intricate details of the wrinkles on their skin,
or their eyelashes, how long their eyelashes are.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Elephant eyes are gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
They've got beautiful long eyelashes that I have tons of
friends that would kill for those. They're just such beautiful
and unique creatures. And when you are able to get
that close and have that shared moment or that experience,
it makes you want to be a part of the journey,
part of the process of helping them and helping their
counterparts in the wild, and really just wanting to make
(18:01):
more of an effort to be better and sometimes it's
as simple as turning your lights off when you leave
a room, or turning the faucet off when you're brush
your teeth, or recycling.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Those little things add up.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Maybe those things specifically don't help elephants or don't help
these animals, but we're talking bigger pictures, yeah right.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I mean I always tell kids, you know, what can
I do to help out the world, because you know,
sometimes it can be doom and gloom and I'm you know,
doom scrolling on TikTok and seeing all these things. But
I tell them, you know, it's just as easy as
just supporting your accredited zoos and aquariums that are doing
really really good work, right. I mean, last episode I
talked about the Save Carilla program, and there's a lot
of programs we do here as well that not only
benefit the herd here at the Safari Park, but also
(18:38):
our partners right out in Africa too. Can you speak
a little maybe give me like an example, maybe one
or two things that you guys do here, you as
a team of wildlife care specialists at the Safari Park,
and that really help out elephant conservation as a whole.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
So for a few years we were collecting milk samples.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
That's my favorite. I was hoping to talk about the milks.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
That from our lactating females so Zoos and Makaia when
they were born. Both of their moms were obviously lactating.
As mammals, they have memory milk.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Kids, they're making some mama's milk exactly.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
And so both I'm gani and and Doulah were trained
to basically present their memory to us. Basically it's hard
to describe, but step their leg forward and basically access, yeah,
basically to touch and then to It's very difficult to
milk an elephant.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
You know, I'm just gonna go with you on this one.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
You know, I've never milked a cow, but.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
I can tell you, but I'm sure it's not the same.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
It's not the same.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
It's quite challenging, and we would get very small samples,
like less than a pinky fingernails worth of milk. But
that little drop was super important because we work very
closely with an elephant orphanage in Kenya. The Riteddy elephant
orphanage and poaching is still a real big issue for
elephants in Africa, and what ends up happening is you
(19:54):
have all these babies that have nowhere to go where
they get separated from their family groups, and so.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
Which is super sad, right, I mean, and you were
just talking earlier, how solcil these animals are, right, I mean,
how sad would it be if you a little kid
then you swast your mama like what are you gonna do?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Exactly?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
And so Roteddy, along with a couple of other organizations
and orphanages, take in these baby elephants. But the problem
is is that there's no baby formula for elephants, and
so a lot of times they're getting goat's milk with
different supplements added to it, and some babies take to
it and some don't. And so the milk sampling that
we were taking was basically to allow us to figure out, Okay,
(20:29):
Zuli and Makaiah are three weeks old, this is what
is in mom's milk at three weeks old. Then you know,
you might look again two months old. What does mom's
milk look like at two months and so on and
so forth, And we're basically just tracking what a baby
elephant needs depending on the age, and looking at mom's
(20:50):
milk and going okay, these enzymes these proteins, these vitamins, minerals,
all of that. This is what we're seeing in the
milk at what age the calf is and then we
share that information with our partners in Africa, and then
it's up to them to kind of figure out, Okay,
how do we replicate this milk as best we can
with what we have formula wise, And so that's been
(21:13):
a really cool project that we've been a part of
now for a few years. There's still a long way
to go, right, and when you only have a small
sample size of two moms, you know, it's not going
to be as illuminating as if you have multiple females
and different habitats. Those diets are different because diet's going
to play a huge part of that too. You know
what is mom eating and how often is she drinking,
(21:34):
and that's going to change what's in the milkers.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Wow, No, I love that story, Nick, Thank you so
much for sharing it earlier about the way, I heard
a bunch of machinery going on, So I got to
say right now, like, you guys work so hard every
single day.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
I made it took a while back.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I think it was like season three maybe where we
were talking about elephants, and I remember, as a wildlife
care specialist coming into the break room.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
As an example, I could always pick.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
You guys out because you are covered in dirt from
the head to toe.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I'm looking at you right now, just caked in it.
But that is your world of ego.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
You are working hard every day where it could be
over ninety degrees outside it could be thirty degrees, but
you guys are out and about. We're getting a little
closer to the time. But before we end, thank you
for describing Elephant Valley.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
I think I'm.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Most excited what you said, like see the hairs on
the elephants and see the eyes and eyelash as the
experienced guests are going to have.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
But I got to ask you, man, because it's a
lot of work that you guys do every single day.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
You're here super early, late in the evening sometimes depending
on the situation.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But how did you get involved with elephants?
Speaker 2 (22:31):
I mean, did you wake up as a kid and like, oh, man,
I want to work with elephants.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, right away.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
I'm a native San die Again, me too, I really
were up going to the zoo and oh ever, since
I could walk and talk The only thing I've ever
wanted to do was work with elephants and work for
San Diego Zoo Wilife Alliance. Yeah, and for me, I
never had a plan.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
B I always knew that this was what I was
going to do.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I started working for the zoo when I was sixteen,
and I started an education.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Oh I just see it.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, And I worked my way up and some of
it was the right place at the right time and
the right people you knew, and some of it was
just a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication.
And because a lot of people love animals, and a
lot of people think, oh, how cool would it be
to be able to work with lions or pandas or elephants,
And then they get there and they're like, ooh, this
is not for me. You know, you quickly realize my
(23:19):
love for them it has a limit. And you know,
for me, I just always knew that this is what
I wanted.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, I feel that.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
I love that story.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Everyone's origin story is always different, Sam from the previous episode,
a completely different story. I love how focused you were,
like this is going to happen as a little kid,
and dude, look at you now you're here at the
safar apart from the rock, and I've known you for
a lot of years now and you're an amazing part
of the team.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
How about some elephant knuckles and eagle and this is great.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
You're welcome. Thank you for having me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Thanks man. Oh wow. I was excited about Elephant Valley
coming up the new and.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Improved earlier next year, but I'm even more stoked learning
from Nick all the little subtle nuances. How much more
of an experience is gonna be for guests. It's gonna
be epic and we're not stopping the story there everyone,
I want to share with you more fun highlights are
gonna happen in our new Elephant Valley with the planteed.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah that's right, friends.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
We're gonna stay at the Safari Park and it's all
about plant power, So be sure to stay tuned for
that next episode.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Marco went staywhild.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San
Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing
Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio. Our supervising producer is
Stillan Fagan, and our sound designers are Sierra Spring and
Matt Russell. For more shows from iHeartRadio, check out the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your
(24:57):
favorite shows. Don't talk Talk
Hosts And Creators
Rick Schwartz
Marco Wendt
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.