Max celebrated his first birthday

Max’s name had been written in fruit and a big ‘one’ had been made out of vegetables. Keeper Aleš Doležal led Max to his treats and his colleagues fed the other elephants at a distance so that the birthday-boy had some time to be alone with his pressies. He immediately took advantage and began to tuck into the vegetables. His other present, however, gave him the most pleasure, a huge ball of fresh twigs. He also tried to eat it, but mainly he rolled it around and threw it.

Max also showed off what he had learnt in his first year of life whilst exercising with his keeper. Maximilian’s training, which is essential for handling elephants kept in direct contact, is great fun for him, which rubbed off on the onlooking visitors.