Each day at 12:00pm noon at the Toronto Zoo, you can meet the elephant keepers for informative talks.
The first and second videos below show the elephant keeper doing various exercises with Thika the elephant. In the third video below, Toka was eating some hay while the elephant keeper was answering questions. Sometimes when the elephant keeper gives their talk, the elephants are still inside the elephant house. The fourth video below shows just the elephant keeper giving her educational talk; the elephants came outside several minutes after she had finished answering questions.
The elephants used to have exercise sessions twice a day plus individual walks around the back paddock for about 20-30 minutes. Since crate training, the elephants are exercised once a day, sometimes outside, due to time constraints. The elephants are asked to do the exercises by the keeper using positive re-enforcement.
Video of Elephant Keepers with Thika: (10 minute video)
Video of Elephant Keeper with Thika doing exercises: (2 minute video)
Video of Elephant Keeper (no elephant): (3 minute video)
More: Ele Training 101 (3 short videos; 3 minutes total)
Before visiting the zoo, read the "African elephant" page (ARCHIVED 10-Nov-2012) to learn all about elephants.
Also read "Getting to Know Toka, Thika and Iringa" to learn more about the Toronto Zoo's three female African elephants and how to identify each one.
