In the wild, elephants often walk many miles a day in search of food and water. Because our elephants are so well trained, keepers are able to provide much-needed exercise. Almost every day, after morning grain, the elephants are walked around the perimeter of the exhibit for about 35 minutes. They walk in a line, holding the tail of the elephant in front of them. The yard is sloped so the elephants get the added aerobic benefit of walking up and down hills.
Keepers also take the elephants out of the exhibit to walk around the zoo.
Everyday, each elephant also receives a workout in the exercise yard next to the barn. To add some variety to the routine, the elephants are taught fun behaviors such as dunking a basketball or painting. Elephants naturally manipulate objects with their trunks so they take to these behaviors quickly. All the behaviors the elephants are asked to do are modifications of natural behaviors Wild elephants naturally kneel down to dig, crouch and stretch to take a mud bath, or sometimes even balance on their hind legs to reach a tasty tree branch high in the air. In the cold winter weather, the elephants spend more time in the heated barn.