Even elephants need to pay attention to grooming now and then.
That?s why Dolly and Anna, the African elephants at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, received pedicures last week.
The zoo?s elephant team works on a rotating schedule, buffing and filing the toenails on one foot per elephant a week, while searching for any rocks or objects stuck in the footpad and using a hoof knife to shave off dead portions of the pad.
“Because they?re so big, their feet are more delicate. They hold so much weight that it?s important to maintain the health of their feet,” said Mike McClure, elephant collection manager at the zoo.
Wild elephants walk on many different types of terrain, so their feet get maintained naturally, he said. Zoo elephants only encounter two surfaces, so the pedicures are necessary to keep their feet healthy.
“Everything we do with them is based on movement,” McClure said. “Dolly is a shuffler, so she has thinner pads. We really have to tailor the footwork to how they walk.”
Each elephant has a different personality, said Meredith Wagoner, an elephant keeper.
Anna munched on apple fiber biscuits and napped while the keepers worked on her foot.
Her playful personality came out when she picked up a stool with her trunk and dropped it over a fence before listening to the commands of Megan Mrozinski, an elephant keeper.
The elephant team has taught the elephants a variety of commands, like putting a foot up on a stool for a pedicure or staying steady during the procedure, by giving them positive reinforcement, McClure said.
“They each know well over 50 commands,” McClure said. “I can teach Dolly anything in five minutes and she?ll remember it for the rest of her life.”
McClure started the foot-care program nearly seven years ago, and said it is in constant evolution to accommodate the elephants.
