Wind rippled the pool in Elephant Lands at the Oregon Zoo on Tuesday, and rain pelted the animals that chose to remain outside, but in Forest Hall, the air was warm and jackets were strewn along the concrete steps.

The zoo was closed, but staff, media and a few lucky guests had cellphones out, leaning against a railing, watching Tula-Tu, the Asian elephant calf who isn’t even a month old yet, try to step over a log.

Even though Tula-Tu could walk almost as soon as she was born, and even though she’s already 265 pounds, she’s still figuring out how her legs work. So, after getting two legs over, she high-centered herself on the log.

Her fans watched intently, and when she finally made it over, they cheered her on.

Tula-Tu was born on Feb. 1, after her mother, Rose-Tu, was pregnant for 20 months. Tula-Tu is Rose’s third calf — brother Samudra was born in 2008 and Lily in 2012.

Lily died suddenly at 6 years old in 2018 from endotheliotropic herpesvirus.

All of Rose’s calves are third-generation Oregon Zoo elephants. Rose was born at the zoo in 1994 and her mother, Me-Tu, was born at the zoo in 1962.

Though Tula-Tu was the smallest of Rose’s calves at birth, she is healthy, thriving and, as keeper Steve Lefave said, as he watched her and her mother in Forest Hall, “She came out particularly cute.”

On Tuesday, Tula-Tu took a break from exploring the log to feed from her mother.

Elephants, like humans, have only two nipples, and as Tula-Tu suckled, one of her back legs bounced around, not quite under her control, much like an infant human’s legs might bounce during feeding.

Calves can breastfeed until they are 5, Lefave said.

“Usually, they’re pushed off around two and a half, three years old,” he added. “ I think that’s been the average here.”

Tula-Tu doesn’t have teeth yet and won’t eat solids for six months to a year, but she’s gumming whatever she can, including bamboo and a concrete platform near Lefave’s feet.

Rose-Tu, munching on her own bamboo and hay, always seemed aware of Tula’s location, even if she was not directly interacting with her. When Tula-Tu got to close to something she deemed inappropriate for the little elephant, Rose-Tu stopped her with her trunk.

Every day Tula-Tu is learning new things and having new experiences.

She met her “auntie” elephants, Shine, who is technically a cousin since her father Packy was Me-Tu’s sister, and Chendra, a Borneo elephant rescued and brought to the zoo in the 1990s.

Shine and Chendra help Rose-Tu “correct” Tula-Tu when she does something she shouldn’t, like play in food or take something that isn’t hers.

Tula-Tu will meet the male elephants, father Samson and brother Samudra, when she’s “a bit more robust,” Lefave said.

Tula-Tu’s also practicing with her trunk and trying to make sounds. That’s still very much a work in progress.

“She doesn’t have it right,” Lefave said, “So you hear kind of a weird noise that sounds like somebody blowing in a drain pipe. You’ll every once in a while get a little note off of it.”

And now, she’s started seeing visitors, or at least visitors have started seeing her, which, according to Lefave is “going great.”

Tula-Tu isn’t giving her mom much rest. Rose-Tu sleeps when Tula-Tu sleeps, Lefave said, but is awake when she is awake, too.

Already, Lefave said, Tula-Tu has a personality coming through. Which is evident to anyone watching.

“She’s going to be a firecracker,” he said. “ I keep saying, ‘We’re in trouble because she’s wicked smart.‘“

This opinion, that Tula-Tu is extra smart and advanced for her four weeks, is echoed by others watching. Her keepers, it seems, are as smitten as any new parents, bragging about the brilliance of their new baby.

The good news is that now visitors have a chance to see Tula-Tu in Forest Hall and judge for themselves.

Starting Saturday, the zoo will be moving to spring hours and open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the last entry 4:30 p.m.

Winter discount days, when zoo admission is $13, run from Saturday, March 1 to Friday, March 7.

The best times to see Tula-Tu will be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but note, the zoo is limiting the number of guests in the hall at a time and there’s always a chance Tula-Tu will be outside of view or napping, which, as a baby, she does frequently.

And just like with any baby, these moments of tiny Tula-Tu will go by quickly.

“ I think the big thing is just enjoy this moment,” Lefave said. “Because this is a beautiful gift for us.”

“ It’s a weird time,” he said, so it’s helpful to have “something positive to focus on and enjoy.”

“You come here, you watch that baby flop around,” Lefave added, “you can’t help but leave with a smile on your face.”