Just because vast swaths of the Oregon Zoo are under construction as work proceeds on its new Elephant Lands exhibit and other projects doesn't mean the zoo will miss out on its annual Elephantastic celebration.
Activities running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday will include opportunities for visitors to design their own elephant habitat, to learn more about the 96 Elephants campaign, which combats illegal trading in ivory, to discover how elephants interact with water and more. The event is free with regular zoo admission and will include free cake as part of the annual celebration of Packy's birthday.
Don't count on seeing the big fella, though. According to the zoo, because of construction, Packy won't be on view Saturday.
Keepers plan to present him with a 40-pound whole-wheat cake topped with carrots, bananas, apples and sweet potatoes on Monday, April 14, when he turns 52.
How much do you know about Asian elephants, the species the zoo has? Check out these five facts, courtesy of the zoo:
1. Asian elephants are shorter and heavier than African elephants. They have rounded backs, small ears and relatively smooth skin while African elephants have dipped backs, large ears (shaped like the African continent) and wrinkly skin.
2. Elephants use their trunks to communicate, touch, eat, drink and smell. Hundreds of muscles make the trunk strong, flexible and deft, it can lift heavy logs or pluck a single leaf from a tree. Elephants can even use their trunks like snorkels to breathe underwater.
3. Some males have tusks, long incisor teeth that grow up to 5 feet long. Most females and many males have tushes, much smaller teeth that lack a central nerve (unlike tusks).
4. Asian elephants are highly social and form strong bonds with other herd members. Females and calves live in multigenerational, matriarchal herds, while adult males spend time away from herds and in "bachelor" herds.
5. Their range varies, but is generally large: from 11 to 133 square miles for elephants in Sri Lanka, to more than 231 square miles for elephants in south India.
-- Katy Muldoon