When a baby elephant at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in London, England, turned one, her caretakers offered a set of footballs as a gift. Since soccer (football in Europe) is the most popular sport in the Uk, the staff at the zoo thought tiny calf Elizabeth will enjoy a kick about, and they weren’t disappointed!
Although the balls weren’t actually soccer balls, but more like fitness balls, baby Elizabeth proved herself a very talented player, and a pretty selfish one, though. Soccer is known a team sport, but the sweet baby and her herd were from a team. She just grabbed both the balls all by herself, and proved her skills with her feet and even her trunk. The funny moment was caught on camera and it proves that everyone loves soccer in the Uk, including elephants!
“We knew Elizabeth would absolutely love her birthday presents – as well as providing a wonderful source of fun and stimulation; it keeps her very active too,” zookeeper Mark Howes said. “She certainly has a trunkful of skills when it comes to dribbling a football…she’s natural with the ball!”
The gift for Elizabeth was carefully picked by her caretakers, as they help the calf to develop her mobility and pace!
“When elephants are first born it can take them a little while to work out how to make the most of their trunk, which contains more than 40,000 muscles,” Howes explained. “We have all been amazed by how quickly Elizabeth mastered it, and how much control she seems to have.”
You can watch the baby elephant’s antics below!
h.t: mailonline
