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Over the past few decades, we as caregivers have learned a lot about African elephants and their preferences, including those involving bodies of water. A few of our followers asked why we only dug one mud wallow in the current female African habitat, and the plan has always been to make those location decisions based on the elephants’ preferences. For instance, they might like a deep one farther into the habitat, or they might prefer something larger and more shallow. We’re continuing to ponder those topics as we complete the expansion, which is well underway, and will have a pond and more wallows. 

We’ve known African elephants who enjoy spending time in ponds, but a good number of them seem to prefer smaller mud wallows–ones they make for themselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t like the mud wallows we create or that they might not want to swim. There’s no way to know until the opportunity arises. 

Here, Pupy has been sucking up water from the automatic refillable waterer on her right and dumping it onto the ground, where it becomes gushy mud. This went on over and over and she dug and dug until she created a significant hole in the ground. We’ve seen much deeper and wider from her as well, some so deep that she can put all four legs in. Pupy does well for herself in this case, since she’s basically up to her two front elbows in the mud wallow. There’s a homemade wallow in some state of construction by mostly Pupy, although Kenya is helping, at all of the trough locations in the African habitat. Pupy and Kenya can still easily use them, since they can reach over or move around. It’s just part of the settling in process, where the elephants are truly making their new home their own.