Conferencing and Collaborating: Creating an Elephant Knowledge Archive
Animal care and husbandry is a collaborative field that constantly evolves. To be a successful animal care specialist is to commit to continual learning, growing, and adapting as the field develops. When the ultimate goal is providing the best possible quality of life to the animals under your care and conserving wild populations, neither stagnancy nor isolation are options. Animal care specialists immerse themselves in cutting edge research and ongoing conversations regarding their field, always striving to seek others’ expertise and to contribute their own knowledge to colleagues. One important way animal care specialists help advance their field is to participate in professional organizations and conferences such as the Elephant Managers Association (EMA). Rosamond Gifford Zoo Elephant Care Specialists Heather Jennings and Alinda Dygert serve on EMA committees and partake in conference workshops, which gives them the opportunity to learn more about elephant management practices as well as to support a growing archive of elephant care knowledge that helps shape the trajectory of the field. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo celebrates their recent contributions and positive impact their work has on the field of elephant care. 
Originally formed in 1988, the EMA is an international, professional organization made up of over 200 individual members and 19 institutions. EMA’s work is dedicated to the welfare and survival of the world's elephants through improving communication, husbandry, research, education, and conservation amongst elephant professionals.
A member of the EMA Training and Husbandry Committee, Jennings recently submitted a series of videos depicting four training behaviors that are part of the elephants’ routine as part of a virtual conference. The videos walk viewers through typical training sessions as elephants voluntarily participate in an eye exam, mouth exam, bath/scrub-skin procedure, and enter a spatial system known as an elephant restraining device (ERD). By recording training sessions that feature these behaviors, which are just a sampling of the 40-60 behaviors the elephants at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo train consistently, Jennings provided a helpful resource to other EMA members who might be interested in adopting some of the training and husbandry procedures that help our elephants live happily and healthily. In fact, the chairperson of the EMA Training and Husbandry Committee specifically reached out to Jennings to submit videos, a testament to the success of elephant training at our zoo.
EMA virtual conferences bring together a variety of videos, photos, and shaping plans from zoos that care for elephants, offering everyone the chance to learn new techniques and to draw from each other’s experiences to find the best action plan for each facility’s collection of elephants. “Having an archive built up of materials gives EMA members the ability to explore what our colleagues are doing, how they’re doing it, and why,” explains Jennings. “It’s a way to keep and to share the elephant knowledge we have— to preserve our collective experiences. That’s especially helpful for members who are new to caring for elephants. Instead of having to reinvent the wheel again and again by yourself, you can learn from your colleagues who understand what it’s like to do this kind of work and have figured out options that might be a good solution for an issue you’re encountering. Small adjustments can have big results.”
Establishing good training and husbandry practices is essential for promoting high-quality welfare for elephants living in human care. When elephants train with members of the elephant team, they are stimulated both physically and cognitively as they figure out what the trainer asks them to do and how to execute the behavior properly. All training is voluntary for the animals, meaning the elephants choose to participate because they associate training with positive experiences they enjoy, such as receiving high-value treats, engaging with their care team, and other enjoyable activities.
A solid, effective training routine also paves the way for providing necessary medical care to the elephants without causing them extra stress. According to Jennings, “Training normalizes us being around the elephants and gives us a baseline for monitoring them. They get used to opening our mouths for us and having us look inside. They get used to us touching them, which minimizes their stress levels.” Routine training increases the likelihood that elephants will tolerate some examinations and procedures they need without experiencing anxiety or needing to be anesthetized. For instance, in October 2024, elephant calves Yaad and Tukada received a groundbreaking trial vaccination for the 1A strain of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). One reason that the twins were able to participate in the trial was the elephant team’s diligent and consistent work training with Yaad and Tukada to desensitize the twins to the vaccination process prior to the actual procedure.
Sharing training approaches and materials through EMA means that the elephant care team at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo helps to improve the welfare of many elephants in human care throughout the nation and beyond. “Our team always says, ‘Once you know better, you do better.’ The more we all learn, the better we can all be for them,” asserts Jennings. “That’s why we got into this line of work— to give elephants, all elephants, the best life we can give them.” 
Jennings and Dygert recall a presentation by the Houston Zoo’s elephant team when one of their female elephants was experiencing difficulty training certain behaviors. Her shorter height prevented the Houston Zoo elephant team from being able access her safely for certain procedures. To solve that problem, the Houston Zoo team trained the elephant to step up onto a platform that allowed her to place all four feet onto the elevation. By doing so, the elephant stood taller, making it easier and safer for the elephant team to perform the procedure. “We took that idea and modified it to solve an issue we were noticing with Batu,” Jennings says.
When Batu, a male calf who tragically passed away in 2020 due to EEHV, stood at a station in his indoor holding space, his back happened to line up at the same height as one of his enclosure bars, making it difficult for the elephant care team to perform certain diagnostic and medical procedures. Inspired by Houston Zoo’s presentation, the elephant care team at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo created a platform for Batu and trained him to step up onto it. Once Batu was elevated, the bar didn’t pose a problem. Although the exact specifications of the problems and solutions were different, the exchange of ideas captures just how meaningful communal discussion can be for both caretakers and animals.
In addition to the direct educational benefits that conference participation and EMA membership provides, Dygert notes the professional benefits, as well. “Making connections and establishing a network is really helpful,” she says. “All our programs are different, and we all have slightly different needs. Having the option to talk to so many others about what they’ve done and how it might’ve helped them give us all the chance to take that knowledge and modify it to fit us, whether now or in the future. It’s always helpful to grow your network. Plus, that means we get to talk with people who share our passion to care for elephants, and we enjoy that a lot.”
Dygert appeared in the training videos created for this recent video conference. In the past, she also helped create a set of videos depicting training sessions with Yaad and Tukada when they were younger. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s approach to training the baby elephants had differed from some established practices, but the approach’s ingenuity and success indicated that other facilities could benefit from adopting techniques similar to Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s. Baby elephants currently living under human care, as well as those who will be born under human care in the future, will be able to experience higher quality training thanks to our elephant care team’s expertise and willingness to share that expertise. Dygert also serves as a member of the EMA Conservation Committee to help support EMA meet its elephant conservation goals. She just recently organized a “Pizza for Pachyderms” event at local wood-fire pizzeria, Toss & Fire. When guests presented their “Pizza for Pachyderms” coupon while dining in or used a special code to order online on May 2, 2025, 10% of the tab was donated to Asian Elephant Support, helping wild elephant populations be protected in their native ranges abroad. (Stay tuned for more exciting events aimed at helping wild elephants!)
“Being around people who are just as passionate as you has a way of reenergizing and refocusing you,” Jennings describes. “That’s a shift I always feels after presenting at a conference. As much as we all love our work, there are times it can be extremely tiring and extremely challenging. Burnout is common in the zoo field,” she reports. “But participating in a conference, or really any chance to continue my education, helps center me back onto the elephants, because they are absolutely the most important thing.” Jennings even currently participates in a leadership cohort program through the EMA to learn about elephant program management. “The elephants are always the top priority. I think that’s why we’re always so cooperative with each other. It makes no sense for any program to gatekeep knowledge that could help everyone.”
Perhaps it should be no surprise that the elephant care team understands the great impact that collaboration and sharing have on the field of elephant care. The elephant care team routinely experiences the positive power that comes from consulting with experts by working with John Moakler. As a former elephant collection manager at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Moakler has garnered decades of experience caring for elephants. A legend of the zoo and elephant care world, Moakler continues to assist our zoo’s elephant care team on a part-time basis, offering his cumulative wealth of knowledge and inspiring the next generation of elephant care professionals. “We learn from him every day,” Jennings praises as Dygert nods in agreement.
“Plus,” Dygert adds pointedly, “The elephants love him.”
“Our elephant program has a rich history,” Jennings says, “and he was here living that history as it happened.” During Moakler’s time at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, the elephant program has seen a variety of milestones, including the arrival of female elephant Romani in 1985, the program’s first live elephant birth in 1991, and more. Jennings continues, “We’re so lucky to have [Moakler] as a mentor. Because he’s here and shares with us, our history isn’t lost.”
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo elephant care team certainly takes that sentiment to heart. Whether discovering and implementing new training methods, collaborating with other facilities to brainstorm solutions, preserving and publishing their own knowledge through helpful media content, organizing events that benefit wild elephants, or sharpening their own leadership skills, our elephant team commits to doing everything possible to better care for elephants all around the globe.
The entire zoo community congratulates Jennings and Dygert on their recent achievements and looks forward to continuing to track their success as elephant care specialists.
To learn more about the Elephant Managers Association, please visit www.elephantmanagers.org.
