About Rama | Gallery | Exhibitions | Video Archive | Purchase | Oregon Zoo

Rama the Painting Elephant

Born April 1, 1983, Rama is the youngest son of Packy and Rosey. His dad, Packy, was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in over 44 years. His mother, Rosey, was the first elephant at the Oregon Zoo, purchased with donations of nickels and pennies from children all over the state. Tactile and friendly, it is said that Rosey could have babysat your children, traits that Rama seems to have inherited as he continues to show how special the elephants at the Oregon Zoo are.

Rama began painting as an enrichment activity. What began as training sessions to teach him how to paint quickly became play sessions as Rama's interest soared. "He will follow you around his exhibit, hoping for the opportunity to play. So when I decided to paint with him he was as engaged as ever and my interest in the painting gave him an excitement that was easy to see each time he approached a canvas" says Jeb Barsh, Rama's trainer for many years.

Highly intelligent, Rama has even learned how to paint with just his trunk. The idea was born from a routine elephant health test where they intake saline solution into their trunks and expel it into a sterile bag. When painting, a non-toxic tempera paint —the same egg-based appoint that kindergarteners paint with (or eat!) — is loaded into Rama's trunk and on cue Rama takes a breath and blasts the paint from his trunk onto the awaiting canvas. The effect is what one art critic describes as "Abstract Eruptionism". After washing his trunk of paint in a nearby bucket of water, Rama waits anxiously, reaching out with his trunk as Jeb loads a brush with more paint. Given the brush, Rama begins to finish his art project. Signals from Jeb for Rama to shake his head helps Rama generously spread the paint around the canvas. Although to Rama, the resulting painting is interesting while he is working on it, his paintings have taken on a life of their own.

Rama's paintings have attracted so much attention that they have had several exhibits, including the Mark Woolley gallery in Portland’s art district, the Pearl. The proceeds of his sales contribute to the Oregon Zoo's conservation effort, additional enrichment activities as well as The Oregon Zoo Foundation's Future For Wildlife Elephant Conservation Program. Rama has sold thousands of dollars of his paintings, but try and explain that to Rama. For the elephant named after an ancient Thai ruler, it's all about the enjoyment of painting and, of course, being told how good he is at doing it.