This YouTube video was produced by The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
A fun fact about our newest elephant calf: she loves to play in the sand!
But this isn’t just unique to her – all elephants love to coat themselves with sand. This behavior, called dusting, is a vital behavior where elephants use their trunks to spray dirt, dust, or mud all over their bodies to protect their skin from the sun, act as a natural sunscreen, and repel parasites and biting insects.
This is why you’ll often see Sunny spraying dust all over the calf and coating her with it – she’s just protecting her baby’s skin! Learn more about our newest calf and plan your trip to see her yourself at https://www.columbuszoo.org/baby-elephant-updates
Be on the prowl for fascinating animal encounters and pop-up zookeeper presentations. With 10,000 animals, on every visit you’ll see something new. Empowering People. Saving Wildlife.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
