@Swanson02 It’ll be several months before they go anywhere near the deep pool (probably closer to a year). I did see videos of the female calves investigating the shallower pool of the cow exhibit - with Aiyara experimenting with squirting water. It was astonishing to see an elephant so young (two months old) doing this - with Dokkoon’s hands off approach allowing her to develop her skills much faster than her peers.
@Zoofan15 I saw that video too, and was surprised by the level of control she had. Not sure how Dokkoon’s parenting style would go in the wild, but in captivity it’s really working.
@akasha I see the same with chimpanzees. As infants and juveniles, Sule and Fumo were streets ahead of their peers at Taronga due to the relaxed parenting styles of their respective mothers.
@akasha I also suppose to be fair, Dokkoon’s parenting style is fit for purpose i.e. she’s lived in this exhibit for 17 years and knows it’s safe. It’ll be interesting to see if Aiyara remembers this freedom when it comes to her own calves (obviously Mali hasn’t), though it’ll be a different environment for rearing calves following the move to Werribee. If Mali does relax her control over the coming months, the move to Werribee could set her right back!
