The Houston Zoo keeps its elephants in shape by practicing daily yoga as part of their routine elephant health check-ups, according to the New York Post.

One of the elephants can lift his huge body on his front legs and do a number of other stretching exercises as part of a daily regimen with the zookeepers.

@chroncom This elephants crow pose is better than ours 😳 #yoga #yogi #elephant #zoo ♬ original sound – Chron

The 40-year-old, who weighs 2,948 kilograms and is part of the zoo’s herd, is among the most agile elephants — and the only one that can stand on… front feet.

the elephant

Each yoga session lasts 5 minutes, some older elephants do 2 sessions a day to keep their joints flexible.

“We’re going to take a good look at their skin, we’re going to check their feet, and we’re going to check their mouths,” Wendell said. “But we also look at their range of motion and how they move so we can know exactly how they’re feeling with these training sets.”.”

Once the elephants are born, the training begins first, the trainers make sure each elephant knows their name and gradually makes them feel comfortable as the trainers get their hands on them..

Wendell said the yoga sessions are voluntary, although each elephant is rewarded with a reward for participation, such as fruit or bread..

She added, “If they don’t want to be involved or if they don’t want to continue working with her, they can walk away.” “There is nothing we can do to stop it, but they know they are not getting the bread or the product.”