Cute footage shows baby elephant with new tusks bonding with dad
Is there anything cuter than a baby elephant? How about a baby elephant who has just started growing tusks? Watch the adorable footage of three-year-old Roi-Yim showing off his pearly whites
READING LEVEL: GREEN
He’s Werribee Open Range Zoo’s adorable, sweet soul who has rarely strayed from his mum’s side. But now little elephant Roi-Yim is starting to sprout his tiny tusks, marking the start of an incredible journey to adulthood.
At three-years-old, the young elephant has spent his early life naturally close to his mother and two sisters in a herd of seven females. But as he grows his tusks and begins to mature, Roi-Yim is gradually stepping away and spending quality father-son time with his dad to learn the life lessons every young bull* needs.
Werribee Open Range Zoo elephant trail keeper Andrea Smith said it’s an exciting time in Roi-Yim’s development.
“He’s getting some nice length on his tusks now. He’s starting to use them during play sessions with his sisters, and he’s also starting to use them to push his 4500kg dad around too,” Ms Smith said.
Elephant tusks are made of ivory and begin growing shortly after birth, but they are very small when they first grow and not able to be seen straightaway. They grow continuously throughout an elephant’s life, but daily use keeps them at just the right size.
Tusks also have many interesting uses – to dig for water and feed, for protection, to shift large objects, for sparring* and to signal strength and maturity to other elephants.
Ms Smith said Roi-Yim’s growing tusks and movement away from the family group to join a male social unit* was something Werribee actively supported. It’s an important part of the elephants’ natural social structure as the herd grows.
“The ‘social sessions’ between Roi-Yim and his dad, Luk Chai (pronounced: Look-chai), are starting out gradually, with his mother Mali and his siblings Aiyara and Kati close by for comfort. As Roi-Yim becomes more confident around his dad, he will eventually move in with him,” Ms Smith said.
The increasing time spent with Luk Chai will help Roi-Yim build confidence and learn important bull social skills, just like he would experience in the wild.
“We’ve seen some really beautiful moments between Roi and his dad, including touching trunks, playing in the mud together and feeding side-by-side. Roi-Yim absolutely loves following Luk Chai around,” said Ms Smith. “Luk Chai is a wonderful father. Patient, playful and gentle, even when Roi-Yim insists on staying right by his side.”
Native to Southeast Asia, Asian elephant populations have declined dramatically over the past century and are classified as endangered*, with as few as 48,000 remaining in the wild. They face threats such as habitat destruction, conflict from humans and poaching* for the illegal ivory trade*.
Werribee Open Range Zoo’s multigenerational* herd of Asian elephants are part of a regional breeding and advocacy* program that fosters genetic diversity* in protected zoo environments and helps educate people about the risks elephants face. These populations help to manage risk and can support wild populations in case the species continues to decline.
Zoos Victoria also supports the conservation of wild Asian elephants through an international partnership with not-for-profit International Elephant Project (IEP) in Sumatra. Initiatives include a wildlife ambulance and veterinary training, technology to track and monitor wild populations, and reducing human-elephant conflict.
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GLOSSARY
- bull: male elephant
- sparring: pushing and shoving each other, usually to establish male dominance
- social unit: a group of elephants that share a bond and live together
- Endangered: a species that is seriously at risk of extinction
- poaching: the illegal hunting or capture of wildlife for profit
- ivory trade: the trade and sale of ivory, which comes from the tusks of elephants and hippos and the horns of rhinos and narwhals. Ivory has been traded for thousands of years and was used to make piano keys and decorations. A lot of animals have been killed for their tusks because of the ivory trade, leading to bans in most parts of the world. However, some countries still allow the sale of ivory and illegal poaching is still taking place, putting already endangered African and Asian elephant species at further risk of extinction
- multigenerational: members of a few different generations within one family living together
- advocacy: promoting a particular cause
- genetic diversity: the range of different inherited traits in a species. Higher genetic diversity gives a species a better chance at survival
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QUICK QUIZ
1. How old is Roi-Yim?
2. What is the name of his dad?
3. How much does his dad weigh?
4. What do elephants use their tusks for?
5. How many Asian elephants are thought to exist in the wild?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Keeper talk
Often when you visit a zoo or wildlife park, the zoo keepers will present a talk about the animals to tell visitors all about them. Write your own ‘Keeper Talk’ based on information from this news story. You should tell the audience about Roi-Yim specifically as well as more general information about Asian Elephants.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Science
2. Extension
Practise presenting your Keeper Talk from the above activity. Focus on being confident and engaging. Use an appropriate volume, expression and body language. When you think you have perfected your talk, present it to a partner or your class.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Activity: Vocabulary and Sentence Construction
Objective: To help students expand their vocabulary and improve sentence construction skills using words from the article that are not words already in the Glossary.
Instructions:
Read the article and select five wow words from the article that you find interesting or new. These words should help your partner understand the article’s primary intention.
Set up a game for your partner to guess the word you refer to. Define each of your chosen words in a way your classmate will understand. Write a sentence for each word that relates to the article or makes sense on its own.
Share with your classmate to see if they can guess the word.
EXAMPLE
Definition: The feeling of being glad that something difficult is over.
Sentence: There was a sense of relief as more volunteers arrived to help with the clean-up.
Word for your partner to guess: Relief
Extension Challenge (Optional): If you finish early, try to use two of your chosen words in a single sentence to show how you can connect ideas.