What a feast! At the turn of the year when the tinsel and baubles in Berlin living rooms are being swapped for the first heralds of spring, the Tierpark elephants enjoy the Christmas leftovers from the capital. Thanks to generous donations from different Christmas tree sellers the most delicious certified and of course untreated pine trees end up on the menu for Louise, Pantha, Kewa and Co.*
“Christmas trees are a welcome bit of variety for our elephants. On the one hand they provide entertainment for the animals and on the other hand they really mix up their diet. At the end of the day besides hay, bread, vegetables and fruit there’s only pine, spruce and fir trees in January,” Tierpark director Dr. Andreas Knieriem explains the elephants’ joy.
Stamping and snorting eagerly the Asian elephants destroy the fir trees – their play instinct is stimulated.
With so much hustle and bustle going on among the big guys our New Year’s offspring naturally also wants to prove his bull status: the little bull elephant bravely tramples next to its mother Kewa, cautiously nuzzles the green giants with his trunk, immediately jumps back again and admits defeat in no time at all due to all the needles. The destruction of the fir trees is better left to his mother Kewa (32 years old), sister Thuza (7) and Pantha (3). Starting early is all well and good but it doesn’t have to that early… At the end of the day even the hay in the enclosure is a bit of a challenge. What his mother Kewa wolfs down with such pleasure tends to get stuck sideways in the little bull’s mouth. There’s a good reason why only his mother’s milk is enjoyed in the first few weeks.
The little elephant boy came into the world at Tierpark Berlin on New Year’s Day morning. He weighs approx 100 kg, is 100 cm tall and is doing remarkably well. Seven Asian elephants now and six African elephants live at Tierpark Berlin.
The fir trees are of course not just reserved for the elephants at the Tierpark, kangaroos, zebras, donkeys and horses are among those who also receive the entertaining surprise.
* Tierpark Berlin does not accept any donated trees from private people but only trees that are not sold by retailers.
