"The zoo's four elephants became three in March, following the death of Erna, the largest female and elder of the herd."
Following the death of the matriach, Frezia's behaviour was immediately changed as she attempted to make sense of life without Erna.
"Fredzia reacted strangely when she saw Erna's body. She was really excited," Dr Agnieszka Czujkowska, head of the zoo's Animal Rehabilitation Department, told the BBC. "But you could see that she was also grieving actually, she was also depressed."
She has really been struggling to cope with the change and CBD is being explored as a way to manage this transisiton which as pointed out by Dr. Czuijkowska, can take months or years to cope with.
"This is a huge game-changer in every elephant group. Elephants might have behavioural problems when the structure of a group changes," Dr Czujkowska said.
The zoo's elephants will be the first animals to be given the CBD oil, as they are prone to stress and at the same time relatively easy to monitor.
Given her recent behaviour, Fredzia is thought to be the ideal candidate for the study.
Full article by Joshua Nevett BBC News