Born in 1980, Lucky – who weighs about 8,000 pounds and stands 9 feet tall – has called Cheyenne Mountain Zoo home since 1981 after being orphaned in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
One of the many things Lucky’s zookeepers have done to keep this highly intelligent animal mentally stimulated and challenged is to teach her to paint as an “enrichment” activity. A quick study, Lucky took to this new activity in a matter of weeks. Despite her large size, she is quite attentive to detail as she applies paint to the canvas using her favorite paintbrush. (Elephants have over 100,000 muscles in their trunks, providing them great strength, dexterity and coordination.)
Zookeepers have learned to modify paintbrushes by removing the handles -otherwise they end up in Lucky’s mouth (she loves to chew off the wooden handles!). Her paint medium is water-based tempera. Lucky often makes vocalizations that sound like a loud purr while she’s painting. This is a contented noise, which gives every indication that she enjoys expressing her creative side.