TOYS FOR ELEPHANTS
Eight days in Tallin Zoo
Carl weighs 6,000kg and has the strength to destroy most things people build for him. He is also, by all accounts, easily bored and requires stimulation.
In the summer of 2017 I spent 8 days at Tallinn Zoo designing and building an enrichment toy specifically for him. The brief was simple: make something he cannot immediately destroy, that engages more than one sense, and that uses only materials sourced from the zoo.
The result was a hollowed-out log reinforced with steel tubes. One end packed with gravel for sound. The other end packed with fruit, so he has to work for it. Colorful food-safe rings for visual stimulation. He has to lift it, shake it, and figure it out.
Carl managed to figure this out in under 20min. The toy is still in his enclosure today.