A viral video of Osh the elephant from the Oakland Zoo has been winning the hearts of viewers everywhere. Demonstrating his impressive problem-solving abilities, Osh attempted to crack open a pumpkin filled with frozen coconut water.
The zoo believes in having “25 ways” to present things and different enrichments to ensure that the animals are continuously stimulated and challenged. This thoughtful approach was behind the viral video of Osh and the pumpkin.
Watch Osh’s smart work to smash open his tasty pumpkin:
Osh is a nearly 30-year-old African elephant who was previously a resident of Howlett’s Wild Animal Park in England. He was transported to Oakland in 2004 and is currently the only elephant at the zoo. Staff are planning to transport Osh to another facility soon, so he can improve his social skills even further.
The gentle giant is a multitasker, and the team at the Oakland Zoo is always striving to challenge him.
“He likes to explore all areas of his habitat here at the zoo,” Ms. Kinzley said, describing his demeanor as “calm” and “relaxed.”
“For elephants, when you think about their natural history and behavior in the wild, they forage for up to 22 hours in a 24-hour period,” Ms. Kinzley said. “So when you think about that, our job as their caretakers is to keep them psychologically and physically challenged.”
Such a challenge can come in the form of feeding. Frozen pumpkins, like the one in the viral video, are often puzzling to elephants. They love to step on them and try to break them. This presents a challenge for the animals since it’s difficult even for an elephant to break a hard frozen pumpkin with one stomp.
The zoological team is always trying to come up with similar puzzles. Osh’s calm demeanor shines through as he works through these challenges.
“He just takes his time,” Ms. Kinzley said.
Elephants are known for their problem-solving abilities, and Osh is no exception.
“We’ve actually put pumpkins inside of a hay net that’s been suspended from a pulley system,” Ms. Kinzley said. “And then we’ve seen him stretch up high with his front feet off the ground to reach the pumpkin.”
The fact that Osh knows to reach up demonstrates the high level of his abilities, she said.
When Ms. Kinzley joined the zoo in 2005, she was a young college graduate unsure of what she wanted to do with her career. An internship at Oakland Zoo taught her all she needed to know; she seemed made for a future with animals.
“It’s a magical place,” Ms. Kinzley told the Epoch Times, adding that she’s heartened to see the reactions to Osh’s video.
She says that people love watching animals relate to their environments.
“It’s really cool to see something go viral, in a way. That is something that we created for him,” she said.
One thing is for certain: with the support of Ms. Kinzley and the staff at Oakland Zoo, Osh is sure to enjoy a happy future.
