Tama Zoo 's Asian Elephant, Amara and Vidura, arrived from Sri Lanka and will celebrate their 5th anniversary this coming winter. Although elephants are large animals, Amara was 8 years old and Vidura was 5 years old at the time, still retaining a childlike innocence.

Amara (above) and Vidura (October 2013)		These two puppies when they were a little younger. Vidura is on the left, and Amara is on the right.

At first, Amara, being slightly larger, was stronger in strength contests and would sometimes steal Vidura's food. However, whenever Vidura lay down, Amara would frequently be seen standing protectively, holding Vidura between her legs, and despite not being related, the two seemed like "older sister and younger brother."

Several years have passed since then, and now their sizes have reversed, and their relationship has changed as well. Lately, when feeding the two elephants, you have to be careful about where they stand and when you feed them, because now Vidura will push Amara aside and steal the food.

When moving the elephants in and out of the indoor area and the exercise area, if Vidura moves first and takes her place, Amara may become wary and stop moving. Therefore, we must also pay attention to the order in which the elephants move.

Amara (left) and Vidura (right) today		A secretion is coming from the temporal gland of Vidura.

Another significant change is that Vidura has begun to secrete a substance from the temporal glands, located in the temple area. This is an indicator of a physiological phenomenon called "musto," which is unique to adult male elephants. During this period, elephants tend to become more aggressive.

Vidura began secreting from her temporal glands around the fall of 2014, but no other signs were observed, and she had not yet shown any changes that would warrant calling it a full-blown must. However, since last month (September 2017), when Anura, a male Asian Elephant living in the adjacent enclosure, entered his must period, Vidura also began secreting from her temporal glands, and they seem to be more aware of each other's presence than ever before. Recently, she has also been making sudden loud noises, which I think may be a sign of changes happening inside Vidura's body.

As the person in charge, I am pleased to see these changes in the elephants as a sign of their growth. Their relationship is good at the moment, but it will likely change further as they grow. A few years ago, we added another sleeping area and repeatedly practiced putting the elephants in it, so that we can separate them into different rooms if their relationship deteriorates.

We animal keeper are constantly making efforts to minimize stress on the elephants. When you visit, please take your time to observe the elephants as they grow into adults.

[Tatsuya Ito, Animal Care and Exhibition Artist, South Tama Zoo]

(October 20, 2017)