Episode 3: African Elephants with Caleb Noller

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INTRO (00:00)

*Intro Music – you and me the adventure, me and you to the zoo*

EMILY BISHOP: Hello, and welcome to the Sedgwick County ZooCast, where we are inspiring respect and conservation for wildlife and wild places through caring, connecting, and conserving.

I’m your host, Emily Bishop, and today on the ZooCast, we’ll be sitting down with Elephant Care Professional Caleb Noller to talk about African Elephants

Keep listening to learn about herd dynamics, The Sedgwick County Zoo’s plans to increase the elephant population, and just how much a five-and-a-half-ton animal eats.

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INTERVIEW WITH ELEPHANT CARE PROFESSIONAL CALEB NOLLER // LEARN ABOUT AFRICAN ELEPHANTS (00:43)

BISHOP: Thank you so much for joining us today on this Sedgwick County ZooCast. To get started, could you just give a little introduction of who you are and what you do here at the Zoo?

CALEB NOLLER: Yeah, so my name is Caleb, I’m an elephant care professional here at the Zoo. I’ve been here 15 years. I tell people I’m old all the time, but I’m only 29.

I started volunteering here around 2008, 2009 through our teen volunteer program. I was a volunteer at the Veldt for eight years. Then I became a Veldt zookeeper for two years, and I’ve been in elephants for the last five years.

BISHOP: So, how exactly did you get started working with the elephants specifically?

NOLLER: A lot of it was just the volunteer work. For me, that was a passion ever since… working with elephants was a passion for me ever since I was five years old. So that’s something that I really wanted to do. And eventually just moving into a keeper role, I decided that I would have a lot of regret if I didn’t get to work with elephants in that role. So, when I felt like the time was appropriate, that’s when I applied for elephant care professional position here at our Zoo, and have been here last five years.

BISHOP: Very cool. Um, so for listeners who maybe aren’t familiar with elephants outside of like Dumbo or Babar, how do real African elephants differ from elephants in fiction?

NOLLER: Yeah, so I’d say like, you know, actual elephants, they’re living in multi-generational herds. You know, big herds out in the wild, they can get up to even like 50, 100 individuals, potentially. And that’s what we try to replicate here at the Zoo, too. We have a lot of juvenile elephants, but we also have Stephanie, who’s our oldest, she’s 51. So, we have a lot of just a lot of diversity in our, our herd in terms of ages and in males and females.

BISHOP: How does that work, keeping them like, rotated in different groups to try and mimic that natural grouping that they would do?

NOLLER: Yeah, so just- just based on our herd dynamics, there’re just certain groupings that we can or can’t do just based on herd dynamics. So, for example, a few years ago, one of our females, Simunye, was trying to kick Titan out of the herd, because he got to the age where, as a male, he would get naturally kicked out of the herd. And it was really interesting to watch because she was actually more dominant than Titan at the time. And through that dominance hierarchy change, he actually became more dominant than Simunye. So, like, for instance, we don’t put them together just because in the past, they have been more- more aggressive than pro-social with each other.

That’s not to say that we won’t try putting them together again, at some point. That’s just something that we’re… you know, we read their behavior through the fence line to see, you know, is it positive? Is it aggressive? And that can tell us a lot. But there’s just there’s different herd dynamics like that. And like with like, Callee, our newest one, for him, it’s just part of it is just getting him introduced to some of the elephants, but we’ve, we’ve already been working on that.

BISHOP: We have quite a few elephants here at SCZ. So, can you tell us a little bit about them, and maybe how you can tell them apart?

NOLLER: Yeah. So, our oldest one, like I said earlier, Stephanie, she’s 51. She has been at the Zoo since 1972. She was actually… She came from the Kruger National Park in South Africa. She was an orphan elephant. So, we brought her over here in ‘72.

We have six elephants from Eswatini. It’s a little country in southern Africa. We brought them in in 2016. We were part of a partnership with Dallas and Omaha Zoo, to… each zoo to bring in around six or seven elephants each. So out there, they had pretty well protected parks little fenced in, but they were actually they were experiencing a drought out there. So, with the elephants as much as they eat, plus a drought with that combo, it totally changed the landscape there.

So, I mean, outside the park, you still had pretty- pretty good vegetation, but inside the parks, I mean, it was literally just, you know, bare trees, dirt, and sand. Not very… not a very good habitat for Elephants. So, we partnered with Dallas in Omaha to help bring these elephants in and give them- give them just a really good habitat and living situation for them to grow and thrive in.

And then Ajani he came to this in 2018. He’s been here at the Zoo for five years, originally born at the Indianapolis Zoo. But he actually came to us from the Birmingham Zoo in Alabama. So, they have all bull facility there, which is great. Because for some of these younger bulls, they learn how to really socialize properly. And so, bringing him- bringing Ajani into our herd, he’s been really key, especially with Titan who’s a bit younger, he’s estimated be around like 14 right now. He’s been able to learn a lot of just really good social behavior from Ajani in terms of interacting with our herd, or breeding behavior. Just a lot of things like that.

And then our newest one, Callee, he’s been here with us for about a couple of weeks now. He came to us from the Omaha zoo, but he’s been all around. He’s originally born at Pittsburgh. And then he was- he actually came from Birmingham. Him and Ajani were there together at one point. And then Callee went to Omaha to help with their breeding program. And he’s had… he’s gotten five elephants pregnant there, three are on the ground, two on the way. And then now he’s here at here at a Sedgwick County to help with our breeding program.

BISHOP: Yeah. So how is Callee getting along with the other elephants being the new kid on the block? How’s that going?

NOLLER: Yeah, so, he has been integrated with our Swazi females right now. And that’s gone extremely well, when we… when we did our first intro, I mean, it was exactly how you want it- nice and boring. You know, he just kind of like, “hey, if y’all want to come up and socialize with me, great, if not, I’m just gonna do my thing.” And he’s been just a really well-mannered bull for our Swazi females. And we’ve already seen breeding with him and Simunye.

BISHOP: Oh, really?

NOLLER: Yes

BISHOP: I did not know that

NOLLER: Yeah, happened about a week ago.

BISHOP: That’s very cool.

NOLLER: Yeah

BISHOP: And Simunye is also- is she Titan’s mothers as well?

Noller: Yeah, yes.

BISHOP: Okay. Very cool.

Can you talk a little bit more about the female elephants that we have that were brought over from Africa? Are these the same ones that are of a breeding age with Callee, maybe?

NOLLER: Yes. So, when we first brought them in, not all of them were quite at the breeding age. We’re just waiting for them to- to start cycling. But with elephants as soon as they start cycling, we want them to start breeding and get pregnant. Because out in the wild, that’s exactly what they’re doing. And it’s just the most natural form and way of doing things. Not only that, but just getting- getting to help out with the elephant population and growing it because out in the wild, they’re getting decimated. Ninety-six Elephants each day in Africa are getting poached for their tusks. So, about a year, that’s around 35,000 elephants that are getting killed each year. So, for us, we really want to help build the elephant population and that’s why you know, as soon as they start cycling, we try to start giving them breeding opportunities. As of now all of our females from Swazi- or from Eswatini, excuse me, we can put them in breeding situations.

BISHOP: So here at the Sedgwick County Zoo, our African elephants are at the Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley habitat. So, what does an elephant’s habitat look like in the wild?

NOLLER: Yeah, it just depends on where they’re living out in Africa. They live all throughout the continent, but there’s a lot of different habitats out there. So, the typical one you’re gonna see is, you know, grasslands. So that’s one type of habitat. There’s also African forest elephants that live in the rainforest, central part of Africa. There’s also elephants that live in the desert, you’re gonna see those more so in the northern part. But whatever region they are living in, in Africa, they’re totally adapted and designed to live in those in those habitats.

BISHOP: What niche in the… in their environments, elephants are fulfilling. What role do they play in the wild?

NOLLER: Yeah, they can kind of alter their landscape. So, like, say you have like, you know, really tall grass or forest, they can kind of clear out some of those ways and make good pathways for- for other species in those habitats.

BISHOP: Yeah, so can you talk a little bit more about why it is so important to protect elephants in the wild and to do conservation work?

NOLLER: Yeah, I mean, these animals are amazing. They’re extremely socially complex, very intelligent. Very important for us to- to conserve, and keep alive. And so, we- I mean, we really value them. And they are very, very important animals.

BISHOP: Yeah. If listeners at home maybe wanted to help with elephant conservation, is there anything that they can do or be on the lookout for?

NOLLER: Yeah, come support your Zoo. We are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. It’s only… there’s only about 300 some zoos and aquariums that are actually part of this association. But to be an accredited zoo by AZA, that means you’re at the highest standards possible. But what the really cool thing that we do is if you combine all zoos and aquariums that are accredited by AZA, we give somewhere combined, it’s like 265 million a year towards conservation. So, if you want to help protect elephants if you want to help protect any species that you see at a zoo or an aquarium, just go to your- your local zoo and aquarium that’s accredited and we’re going to help save them.

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LEARN ABOUT ZOOBILEE (11:01)

BISHOP: We’ll be back in a moment to learn more about African elephants. But first, let’s hear about an upcoming event at the Zoo.

Welcome to Wichita’s wildest FUN-raiser

Enjoy live music, delicious drinks, and delectable bites from local establishments during Sedgwick County Zoo’s premier fundraiser. Zoobilee raises funds that help keep the Sedgwick County Zoo animals fed and admission prices affordable. A portion of the funds raised at the event also go to support the Zoo’s animal conservation initiatives in the wild.

Saturday, September 9^th from 6pm – midnight, you won’t want to miss Zoobilee.

Visit scz.org for more information.

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 WHAT DO SCZ VISITORS THINK ABOUT AFRICAN ELEPHANTS (11:48)

BISHOP: The great thing about the Sedgwick County Zoo is that it’s not just a place with a passion for conservation and education. We also have a passion for community. It’s a great place to socialize.

So, the Sedgwick County ZooCast team took to the streets to ask visitors what they thought about African elephants.

VARIOUS GUESTS:

I think they’re the best animals here.

I liked, I liked the trunk.

Me too.

They’ve always been my favorite.

I remember when they all came that was like I sat there on like Facebook Live and like watch them all arrive.

We liked their tusks.

Elephants were amazing. Everybody was out having a good time enjoying the sunshine.

I think they were really interesting like, how they can put their… what is that called? Their trunks up here to get to get food and stuff

Well, they’re super cool. And we saw one playing with a ball, so that was really fun.

I think the elephants are great.

Um, same with me.

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ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE (13:07)

BISHOP: Now, we have some questions from the audience. And these questions are all submitted to us through our Instagram, @SedgwickCountyZoo.

So, @DuncanMercer wants to know, “which one is the biggest?”

NOLLER: Our biggest is Ajani. I couldn’t tell you his height off the top of my head but last week we weighed him and he was weighing at 11,070 pounds

BISHOP: Oh wow. Is that like, large even as far as elephants go or is that like pretty… pretty standard? He just happens to be our largest one.

NOLLER: He just happens to be our largest one, they can get larger than Ajani

BISHOP: @Mary.Jane.Gerber wants to know, “how much do they eat each day?”

NOLLER: Yeah, so an elephant’s gonna eat around 1% to 3% of their body weight each day. So, an elephant like Ajani, he’s going to eat anywhere between like 100 and 300 pounds of food each day.

BISHOP: That kind of answers our next question which was from @WildlifeFanatic1 who was asking, “is Ajani still there?”

NOLLER: That is correct. He’s still here.

BISHOP: How’s he doing?

NOLLER: He’s doing good.

BISHOP: Good. Glad to hear it.

@Ale.Jandra.Guzman wants to know, “do elephants like music?”

NOLLER: So, we play music in our barn all the time, mostly for us. But it’s not something where we play the music and they just gravitate towards it or anything like that. I mean, our elephants are pretty desensitized to just noises, or loud noises in general. I mean we can, you know, the train they don’t really care about that or if we’re moving you know Bobcat equipment around you know, they’re not really bothered by that so it’s not really something that they’re just like, attracted to. It’s just more background noise for them

BISHOP: @AnnMarbles wants to know, “do they all wake up at the same time every day?”

NOLLER: They can. Usually from like our… we have video cameras, so we can look and see when they sleep and stuff. So typically, they’re gonna sleep around midnight to four, somewhere in that range. It’s not, not always exact, but most of the time, like especially for our females in that herd setting, a lot of them will sleep at the same time. And you might see like one or two maybe up, kind of standing guard, so

BISHOP: And finally, @CalvaranThePaleoArtist asks, “how long has the Zoo kept elephants? And what are some future plans for them?”

NOLLER: Yeah, so we’ve had elephants here since 1972. Starting off with Stephanie and Cinda, and then our new… our newest elephant exhibit, the Zambezi River Valley, we’ve had that open since 2016. Future plan is we want to breed we want to get babies on the ground and help our elephant population. That’s why we brought in Callee. He’s already trying to get it going for us. So, we’re hoping that he’s going to help our program out and really help out are the elephant population in general. So, that’s our… for the future. That’s what we’re planning on his babies hopefully.

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LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP THE ZOO CARE FOR OUR AFRICAN ELEPHANTS (16:04)

BISHOP: Before Caleb and I finish our conversation about African elephants, let’s hear how you can help with their conservation and care.

If you’ve enjoyed learning all about Elephants in today’s episode, consider adopting one and becoming a Zoo Pal. Starting at just $25, as a Zoo Pal your donation goes directly towards the care of Sedgwick County Zoo animals. We also have some great perks for Zoo Pals, including recognition in the Zoo, a certificate of adoption, a plush animal, and more.

Adopt an Elephant and become a Zoo Pal today. Just visit scz.org for more information.

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CLOSING THOUGHTS ON THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT (16:54)

BISHOP: So, just wrapping things up, I have a few more questions. What is your favorite thing about getting to work with the African elephants?

NOLLER: Oh, well, a couple things. One is Stephanie; she’s my favorite. She’s the best elephant ever. So as a kid being her fan, and then getting to be a volunteer with her and then get to actually, like, be a zookeeper with her, that means a lot. But also, this team too like it’s an extremely good team. Just you know, a team that wants to work hard, wants to achieve a lot, wants to have wants to see, you know, elephants… The elephant population be successful. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. So, it’s just also just a really good team that work for too.

BISHOP: If someone were to come to the Sedgwick County Zoo, and they wanted to keep an eye out for your favorite, Stephanie, how would they maybe be able to identify her from the other elephants we have in the yard?

NOLLER: So, she is our, our biggest female. So that’s one. She has some buggy eyes. So, watch out for that, although Callee has a little bit buggy eyes. So, so watch out for the eyes. She has tusks, but they are just, you can’t really see them because they’re just underneath the sulcus, which is that flap of skin at the base of their- their tusks. She just, she wears them down. So those are some- some good, good ways to tell Stephanie from the rest of them.

BISHOP: I was wondering, what is your favorite thing about the African elephant?

NOLLER: Oh, just they’re… just how complex their- their social- social dynamics are. I mean, just the last five years, there’s been a few just hierarchy changes that you see. And it’s just really interesting to see. You know, you get like an elephant like Titan, for example, when, when I first started in this job, he was more submissive than Zubiri, our oldest juvenile and Simunye, and Stephanie. And he’s been, he’s become more dominant than all three of those elephants. So, it’s just it’s really interesting to see some of these, these hierarchy changes happen and when they do, and the elephants involved in those, so it’s really cool to watch those play out.

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OUTRO (19:08)

BISHOP: Thanks for listening to the Sedgwick County ZooCast.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Caleb Noller, for sitting down and talking with us about African Elephants.

Thank you to Jennica King, our Director of Marketing and Communication, and Chelsey Schartz, our Digital Content Manager, Steve Onken, our Chief Development Officer, and Scott Newland, our President and CEO.

And a special thank you to our Zoo Members, whose support makes this podcast possible. If you’re interested in becoming a Zoo Member, visit scz.org/membership.

This episode was researched, written, and produced by me- Emily Bishop.

If you liked this episode, be sure to give us a follow, so you never miss when we upload new ones.

Thanks again for listening. Until next time, I’m Emily Bishop and this has been the Sedgwick County ZooCast.