At 7 months old, Meru is tipping the scale at 705 pounds.
- Reid Park Zoo
Elephant calf Meru loves to swim and spend time in the mud wallows.
- Reid Park Zoo
Meru is being more intentional with her trunk, using it to not only pick up food but to spray herself with water.
- Reid Park Zoo
At 7 months old, Meru's favorite food is grapes, though she's interested in whatever the other elephants are eating.
- Reid Park Zoo
Zoo staff call Meru a social butterfly, as she likes to spend time with everyone in the herd.
- Reid Park Zoo
Meru loves swimming and hanging in the mud wallows.
- Reid Park Zoo
Meru was born March 8, joining a herd that includes Semba, Lungile, Nandi and Penzi.
- Reid Park Zoo
Meru's Milestones
Meru thinks grapes are the tastiest snacks in the whole wide world đ
Month after month, I ask the same question.
âAre there any particularly cute moments with Meru that youâd like to share?â
And month after month, the question tends to stump the zoo staff.
âSheâs just cute always,â lead zookeeper Shelby Maerling said this time.
Elephant calf Meru was born at Reid Park Zoo, 3400 E. Zoo Court, to African elephant Semba on March 8. She joins allomother Lungile and big sisters Nandi and Penzi.
Maerling has been at Reid Park Zoo for the births of all three elephant calves, becoming part of the team as an apprentice just one month before Nandi was born in 2014. She was there for the birth of Penzi in 2020 and now sheâs watching 705-pound Meru grow up.
âI started off really wanting to be a veterinarian from as soon as I could talk,â Maerling says. âI actually took horseback-riding lessons at the Phoenix Zoo and I said, âWhat can I do now?â And they said, âYou can come back in a few years and volunteer.â Little kid Shelby took that very seriously.â
Over the years, she fell in love with the connection between animals and opted for a profession that wasn't as focused on the medical side of things.
âMy favorite thing about the job is the relationship (you build). Thereâs so much trust there and weâre able to do incredible things with the animals. Itâs (through) positive reinforcement and itâsvoluntary and theyâre doing it because they have trust in you. I think thatâs so incredible with any animal youâre working with,â she says. âFor elephants, they are iconic and so charismatic. I think itâs incredible to be so close to them and watch people see them for the first time or the 100th time and be so amazed. That impact is so fun to watch.â
Keepers facilitate training sessions with each of the elephants, which are always voluntary for the herd. Training allows staff to ensure the health and well-being of the elephants.
In the last couple months, Meru was learning how to stand still and listen to cues in the event of blood draws, which happen in the ear â the thinnest part of an elephantâs body and the easiest area to see the vein. Blood draws can take the assistance of three people, including trainers and a veterinarian. Keepers have worked with Meru to make sure sheâs comfortable around multiple people.
âHer attention span has really increased and she has become way more focused on her training sessions,â Maerling says. âSheâs really quick to come over and engage with us. She knows how to present her ear when we ask for her ear. She lets us touch it and have multiple people around her ear and (she sees) that itâs not scary. Sheâs really confident in it.â
This particular training milestone is an important building block, Maerling says. Next up, keepers might work with Meru on presenting her feet for routine pedicures. But trainings are always tailored to the individual elephant.
âA young calf like Meru is with her mom, so sheâs learning a lot by watching Semba,â Maerling says. âSometimes, naturally (Meru will) be doing the same things (as Semba), so you can take the opportunity to teach the behavior theyâre already mimicking.â
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Because training is done through positive reinforcement, Meru always gets a reward. Lately, grapes have been the shiny prize.
âBecause she is doing more training now, we are even more dialed into what she thinks is the tastiest thing,â Maerling says. âGrapes are really the tastiest thing in the whole wide world for her. She is so invested in getting those grapes.â
During training sessions, if keepers give her something that isnât a grape, Meru will drop the unwanted snack on the ground and put her trunk back out â patiently waiting for the fruit she actually wants.
âShe thinks it should be grapes always,â Maerling says.
While Meru loves swimming and hanging in the mud wallows, she's also become more interested in eating. When she isnât in a training session, she loves lettuce, hay and anything else the other herd members are eating.
âSheâs still nursing and sheâll continue to do so for likely a couple years, but sheâs showing a lot of interest in the grown-up foods,â Maerling says.
A few months back, Meru's trunk was still operating as a floppy noodle and sheâd face-plant into the food she wanted to eat. But not anymore.
âShe got the motor control (of her trunk) down. Now sheâs got the appetite down,â Maerling says. âBecause she does have the motor control in her trunk now, weâre seeing her be really intentional with her trunk â not just to drink water but throwing it on herself.â
It is admittedly a tiny amount of water, but itâs water no less. Elephants use water and mud to help cool off â mud also acts as insect repellant and sunscreen.
From the jump, 10-year-old Nandi was completely enamored with Meru. That wasnât always the case for 4-year-old Penzi, but sheâs definitely warmed up to the big sister role.
âShe definitely has some moments where sheâs less than thrilled Meru is there, but we do see her standing over Meru when sheâs sleeping to make sure sheâs OK,â Maerling says. âI think every middle child can probably relate to having a little sister. Sheâs doing great and weâre very happy with them. Just today, everybody was in the wallow and there was a lot of trumpeting and running around and zoomies.â
âMeru has so much enthusiasm for everything â she wants to play with every toy, she wants to play in every mud puddle, she wants to splash in the pool,â Maerling says. âEverything she does, she does with so much zest.â
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Gloria was born and raised in Tucson and is a 2018 University of Arizona grad. From wildflowers to wildlife, she loves all things Tucson and hopes to share her love of the city with readers âš
