Indianapolis Zoo’s Baby Elephant Celebrates His First Birthday With Special Party
The Indianapolis Zoo never misses a chance to celebrate their animals' milestones, and on Friday, August 6th, they celebrated their baby elephant Jabari's first birthday! Jabari may not have known that it was a special day, but he had fun celebrating and playing with all the special treats that the elephant keepers gave him. I could watch him play all day!
The elephant keepers hung banners, put out paper chains, added some special treats, and even put out a cardboard baby elephant! Mom Zahara joined in on the celebration, too. The Zoo said that she destroyed all of the decor, just like Jabari did on her birthday!
It looks like both Jabari and mom Zahara enjoyed their big day. Of course, fans of Indianapolis Zoo and the elephants all wished the adorable little guy a happy first birthday and many more to come. @Bruce's Mom was spot on when she said, "The most peaceful creatures on earth! Happy birthday!"
Related: Indianapolis Zoo’s Newest Adorable Baby Elephant Enjoys His First Swim
More About Indianapolis Zoo's Baby Elephant
We all know that baby elephants are beyond cute, and they're also just as smart as we all have come to know them to be. They're curious, insightful, and affectionate. Like me, it seems like people have been watching Jabari grow up and learn all about his new world over the past year. He's so cute and I always smile when I open up my feed and see his adorable face doing something new. Like when he took his first steps outside at the end of September 2023. And my forever favorite, when he went swimming for the first time. He had an absolute blast!
One of Jabari's favorite things to do is to play in the mud. It always looks like he's having fun, and he is...but there are other reasons that he rolls around and gets himself covered up with mud. Bathing in mud helps cool the elephants off and regulate body temperature. Rolling in mud helps protect their skin from insect bites and sun rays. Even though elephants have extremely thick skin but it's actually pretty delicate and they can get sunburns. The mud protects him from sunburns, too.
Jabari is growing quickly, but he still has a long time to go before he's grown up enough to leave his mother's side. Female elephants will stay with their herd for life, yet males head out on their own at about 12 to 14 years of age.
Zoos spend a lot of money and research on conservation efforts for the animals that live there. They also spend a lot of time studying elephant behavior, as well as recording baby elephants like Jabari's growth and development. Another goal is to help advance elephant numbers through reproductive biology. Years from now, when Jabari is much older, he'll become a father someday. I wonder if way day the road we'll all be able to see him interact with his own baby on their first birthday!
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