Each day Lucy goes for long walks and does a variety of exercises. Lucy’s exercises help her maintain a good range of motion in her joints.

Lucy takes several walks throughout the day to exercise her muscles and stimulate her brain. This means hills and valleys to stretch all of her muscle groups; this also forms part of her physiotherapy to treat her arthritis. She does exercises with her care staff and plays games. She likes to play hide and seek where she searches the wooded area for her caregivers. When she finds them she makes an announcement with a rumble or a roar.

Lucy is very careful with her movements. When ready to back up, she will stretch her back leg out to check and see if anyone is behind her.

Lucy is a lucky elephant – she gets to call the whole Edmonton Valley Zoo home! She is taken for long walks in the back pasture for hours at a time. For meals and sleeping, Lucy goes back to the elephant house where the floors are heated and slanted to drain away any water or urine. Lucy has three big rooms inside her house. In one room the floors are covered with sand, and in the main room the floor has a rubberized coating.

The building is also heated from overhead with extra-large vents. The walls are textured to aid in skin care. After a bath she rubs against the walls to remove any dead skin.

She sleeps in one of the smaller rooms on a bed of sand that allows her to easily lie down and enjoy a comfortable sleep.

Usually Lucy is showered every few days, but will bathe more frequently in hot weather.

Every inch of Lucy is scrubbed with large and small brushes. When the scrubbing is complete, the zoo staff rinse her back, but she likes to rinse her front herself. If she puts the hose down, it doesn’t mean she is finished rinsing! The care staff will ask her if she is done before they put away the hose.

In the cooler months, Lucy’s body must be completely dry before going outside, so the staff will play games with her until she is dry and ready for her walk.