Tom, a 7-year-old male African Bush Elephant at Tama Zoo, arrived at the park in November 2012 when he was 3 years old. Tom has grown considerably since then, and as he has grown, he has also become more active at night. Therefore, in order to allow him to spend his time more fully in a larger space at night, we started "nighttime free-roaming" in June of this year (2016). The door between his sleeping area and a non-public reserve enclosure is left open, allowing him to come and go freely.

We had tried nighttime release once before in October 2015, but it was only for one night because the temperature was low. More than six months have passed since then, so it's been a while since we last did nighttime release, and two staff members have decided to stay overnight to observe.


Tomu went out to the reserve enclosure.
When Tomu was released into the reserve enclosure, he walked around and spent his time leisurely, eating oak branches and wild grasses. However, unlike usual, he did not lie down and sleep indoors.

However, as the days go by, he gradually gets used to his new environment, first sleeping indoors, and now even lying down and sleeping outside (we record and check his behavior at night with a security camera). Sometimes, he still shows his childlike side, knocking down the sandcastle he's built outside with his teeth or carrying his favorite log around to play. On days with heavy rain, he doesn't seem to want to get too wet, so he spends his time indoors at his own pace.

We plan to weigh Tomu in the near future. How much has Tomu's weight increased since he weighed 2,300 kg last August? What kind of male elephant will he grow into? And who will be Tomu's future mate? (That's getting ahead of ourselves.) We can't take our eyes off Tomu's growth.

[Tama Zoo, Tama Zoological Park]

(August 18, 2016)