On August 15, 2018, we weighed Tom, an African Bush Elephant. Tama Zoo first weighed Tom in 2015, three years after he arrived at the park in 2012, and this year marks the fourth time. Tom seemed quite used to it as he stepped onto the scale.


Tomu during weight measurement
After measuring four times to account for errors, Tomu's weight was 3,040 kg. This is not much change from last year's 3,000 kg. It is said that elephants gain about 1 kg of weight per day until they reach adulthood. We don't know exactly why his weight hasn't increased as much as we expected. However, his shoulder height has grown from 250 cm last year to 255 cm. It's only a difference of 5 cm, but it indicates that his skeletal formation is progressing, and from our daily observations, his muscle mass seems to be increasing, so we can see that he is getting bigger. He also appears to be active at night, so Tomu is steadily approaching adulthood.

By the way, I previously informed you that Tomu's left fang broke late at night on February 28th of this year, and that we had begun treatment for it.

◎ African Bush Elephant "Tomu" will soon be 9 years old.

Since then, the tusks have chipped several times, and bleeding has also been observed. Treatment is still ongoing. Complete recovery will still take time, but we are working with the veterinarian to continue treatment so that the tusks can grow back as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, this summer saw a prolonged heatwave, and elephants were frequently observed splashing pool water on themselves to cool down and lower their body temperature. Mud bathing was also seen on a daily basis. By covering their bodies with mud and coating their skin, they can protect their skin from direct sunlight and also prevent external parasites.

Chiki and Tomu taking a bath		Chiki taking a mud bath

And, as an event perfectly suited to the intense heat, we held our annual "Chilled Watermelon Now Available!" event again this year. All three elephants were seen eating with great delight. Chiki skillfully brought the watermelon to her mouth without spilling a single drop, but Tomu and Ako stepped on the watermelon once before eating, showing individual differences. If you observe them carefully, you can clearly see the personalities of the three elephants. We encourage everyone to take their time and observe the elephants at the elephant enclosure.

Cheeky eating watermelon while holding it in his mouth		Ako crushes a watermelon with her foot.

This year we experienced an unusually intense heatwave, so we paid extra attention to the health of our aging elephants. Thanks to our efforts, all three of them seem to be making it through the summer safely.

[Yuta Yamamoto Tama Zoo, Tama Zoological Park]

(September 14, 2018)