Baby elephant Tula-Tu learns to harvest bamboo from mother and aunts

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon Zoo elephant family enjoyed a "bamboo brunch" last week after staff transformed their habitat with a temporary mini forest. One-year-old Tula-Tu participated in the snack, learning how to harvest the bamboo alongside her mother and aunts.

Zoo staff "planted" the bamboo throughout the habitat to create a foraging experience for the herd. While Tula-Tu now weighs 1,000 pounds, she remains the smallest member of the family compared to the adult elephants.

The 1,000-pound Tula-Tu is still considered small for an elephant when compared to her parents. Her mother, Rose-Tu, weighs more than 7,500 pounds. Her father, Samson, weighs more than 10,000 pounds.

The activity allowed Tula-Tu to observe the older members of her herd. She spent the brunch learning how to harvest the bamboo stalks by watching the techniques used by her mother and aunts.