Jumbe’s Journey to his Outdoor Exhibit

The first time the doors to the elephant barn opened, the elephants practically ran outside. But when animal keepers opened the doors for our black rhino, Jumbe, they waited, and waited… and waited for him to appear. Finally, the tip of his rhino horn peeked out the door but quickly disappeared. Then a horn, a nose, his head – finally Jumbe was outside. Just as keepers started to get excited about seeing him exploring the new space, he ran swiftly inside and stayed there. 

It seems Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has a shy rhino.

For the last two months, animal keepers have been using positive reinforcement and target training to encourage Jumbe to go outside. His target is a stick with a yellow ball on the end, and every time he touches his nose to the end, he gets his favorite foods.

“We use apples, carrots, bananas and a little bit of bread to reward him,” Jason Bredahl, Animal Care Manager said. “He is food motivated and enjoys working with the keepers, but it doesn’t always outweigh the safety he feels indoors.”

The doors from Jumbe’s indoor space to his outdoor habitat are left open most of the day, so he has the option of being where he is content.

“We leave most of his food outside,” Bredahl explains. “He seems okay going outside to eat in the morning and to sniff around a bit, but he doesn’t feel comfortable staying outside, and that is the issue we are trying to overcome with him.”

Bredahl reports that Jumbe is making progress every day. Once he is at ease staying outside in the habitat next to the barn, they will start to train him to travel up the pathway (or “trek,” as it’s called at the Zoo) into his newly built outdoor rhino exhibit.

“Our guests keep inquiring why such a wonderful rhino yard doesn’t have a rhino wallowing in it,” Bredahl said. “We want Jumbe to enjoy being outside, so we are letting him acclimate at his own pace.”

Keepers have designed a sign that will mark how far Jumbe has journeyed into the outdoor yard every day. Follow his progress from the barn, to the side yard, into the trek… and eventually into the black rhino exhibit! We will keep our guests updated with photos and the number of feet he’s traveled on Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. Be sure to “Like” us at facebook.com/CMZoo, or “Follow” us at twitter.com/CheyenneMtnZoo to track his progress.

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