Monkey see, monkey do! They say imitating others is one of the best ways to learn how to do something. In the world of education, we call this type of learning “modeling.” For instance, at the preschool or kindergarten age, a teacher might instruct a child how to cut paper with a pair of scissors. They usually first start by cutting the paper on their own to allow the child to watch, then cutting it with the child’s hand underneath theirs, and then eventually letting the child cut with the scissors on their own.
Before we went to school, however, we first learned to model from our parents. They taught us to tie our shoes, ride a bike, and how to write our names. It’s not just humans who model from their parents, though. Animals do this too! However, after Moyo the baby elephant lost his herd while crossing a river, his rescuer, Roxy Danckwerts of Wild Is Life, had to act as his mother figure and model to help him get acquainted with his world.
Although Moyo is now 14-months-old, following Rescuer Roxy around the house and getting familiar with her belongings continues to be one of the elephant’s favorite past-time activities. There’s video footage to prove it.
In the video, we observe the baby elephant getting a little rambunctious in Roxy’s home, knocking over dishes, plucking out the leaves of luscious house plants, peeing on the dining room floor, and even lying on the sofa! However, it’s all for a good cause. Moyo thoroughly enjoys exploring his world and learning everything he can from Roxy about her humanistic ways of life.
It’s clear in the video that Moyo has long outgrown the house and doesn’t quite have the manners to live there full-time, but regardless, learning the ropes of life from Roxy is what he does best.
One of the cutest parts of the clip is when Moyo is “helping” whip up a meal in the kitchen. Although Roxy states that Moyo is fairly used to the kitchen, not long later, we witness the curious elephant trying to get a taste of freshly-baked brownies. Uh-oh!
While the elephant has a bit to learn about obedience, he certainly tries his best to learn from Rescuer Roxy and does what she does whether it be lounging on the couch or baking in the kitchen. In fact, elephants are one of the smartest creatures on our planet. It’s believed that they can determine the distinctions between different languages and understand whether a woman, man, or child is speaking. That’s pretty impressive!
The footage of Baby Moyo in the video below will melt your heart! Don’t you just wish you could have a pet elephant?!
