Well, muddy really.

On Sunday, one of the first days he has been seen in public, Osh spent most of his time wallowing in the exhibit's mud, elephant keeper Colleen Kinzley said. Wallowing and getting stuck -- twice.

Luckily for 10-year-old Osh, he had a friend to keep him from becoming a permanent stick in the mud.

"Lisa offered a little assistance in the way of a shove in the rump," Kinzley said. "They work well as a team."

That's Lisa, the 27-year-old female African elephant that Osh has been buddies with for a while. So far, elephant keepers are allowing just the two of them access to the exhibit while the remaining female elephants, Donna and M'Dundamella, stay in the holding yard. His access to the exhibit is limited.

Lisa is known as the friendliest of the elephant herd, Kinzley said, and became a natural match for Osh, who is smaller than the other elephants. Osh socializes with Donna and M'Dundamella, but Kinzley said keepers will wait awhile before letting the four of them roam the exhibit together.

"We're really just trying to take our time with that," she said.

Osh is at an age where in the wild his herd would be ostracizing him and forcing him to leave. His play with Donna is friendly but rough, and the elephant keepers do not want to take any chances.

The zoo acquired Osh from Howlett's Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, Kent, in the United Kingdom. There, as a preteen elephant, Osh still wanted to play with the younger calves in the 16-member herd. He was larger than they were and rough, prompting the calves' mothers to ostracize and threaten him.

At the Oakland Zoo, Osh represents the next generation of captive breeding elephants in the United States and the future of the zoo's African elephant breeding program.

He replaces the zoo's former African elephant bull, Smokey, who died of chronic wasting disease three years ago. He was considered one of the most important breeding bulls in the United States before his death.

Osh will be on display Sundays and Fridays 1:45 to 3:45 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 2:45 pm.

The Oakland Zoo is at 9777 Golf Links Road. Admission is $8.50 for adults and $5 for children. Parking is $4.

Call 632-9525 for more information.