Happy One-Week Birthday to Baby Elephant
Posted at 2:52 pm September 18, 2006 by Fred Bercovitch
The Wild Animal Park's newest elephant herd member is now one week old and continuing to grow and develop (see Fred and Jeff's previous blog, Elephant Herd Welcomes New Baby). We watch her so closely that we even know when she pooped for the first time! You might think that we are a bit weird for writing this down, but it shows us that she is taking in enough nutrients to generate waste products. (Oh yeah"¦her first poop was taken when she was nearly 24 hours old.)
In the same way that elephant calves are attractive to people, they are also a magnet to other elephants. By watching the herd on Elephant Cam, you can see how the other elephants mingle around to touch, smell, listen, and watch the little girl and her mom. One of Umngani's most compatible herd mates is Litsemba (pictured above on the right), so the first herd member to join the mom and calf was a good friend. You may also notice Lungile in the yard with Umngani and the calf. She is a smaller and more passive elephant, so she was one of the first to meet the new calf. We are able to let specific elephants meet the new baby because we shift the elephants around to different sections of the exhibit. The elephant staff has trained the animals to move using positive reinforcement. This was quite a feat that required a lot of patience, but has proven to be beneficial for the elephants.
One reason why we are slowly introducing other herd members to Umngani and her baby is because they are all so excited about the newcomer. In the wild, an elephant herd also shows a lot of interest in newborns, but we need to be a bit cautious in a managed care setting. Imagine what would happen if two-year-old Vus'musi (Moose), was so thrilled about his new playmate that he ran over to welcome her, but accidentally bumped into the little girl. Whoops! In fact, Moose is growing so fast that he now sprouts a couple of little tusks.
So we are slowly integrating mom and calf with the herd. We plan to do so for all of our expectant moms and calves after they've given birth. Litsemba is due this spring, Umoya looks like she'll have a baby late summer, 2007, and Lungile should give birth sometime late 2007 or early 2008. Just think: our Park herd will nearly double in size with these additions, and the youngsters should have a lot of playmates to keep them happy, healthy, and rambunctious, and they have plenty of room to frolic. At this time we intend to allow the calves to grow up within the herd.
Fred Bercovitch is head of the Behavioral Biology Division of CRES.
Jeff Andrews is an animal care manager at the Wild Animal Park.
Watch the elephant herd on Elephant Cam.
See the first photos of our elephant baby.
Here's video of the elephant calf.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
September 18th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
What great news! A new baby, more to come, successful integration of the new one into the herd, and the staff has managed to inculcate some training into the adults. That's quite a feat, considering that the adult herd was wild. What a story that must be! I would be very interested to read how the training was accomplished, and how the different elephant personalities reacted. Happy one-week birthday to little " Ellie" . When will she get her name?
September 18th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
Welcome to the world, little girl! We're all so happy to finally meet you and to hear that you're doing so well. We all look forward to watching you grow and thrive and become a beautiful new addition to the herd.
September 19th, 2006 at 6:37 am
Thanks, Fred, for a great update and education on elephant life within the herd. She is a cutie and will be well loved by her human and elephant companions and care givers.
Musi will be happy to have a " smaller" and livelier playmate soon. Just imagine the elephant kindergarten you will have going in 2007-2008.
September 19th, 2006 at 7:08 am
Thank you for the one-week follow-up. I was wondering how much longer until the little one is named? It's wonderful to know that next year there will be more calves to look at via the WebCam. It's so exciting! Health and happiness to all!
September 19th, 2006 at 8:22 am
Fred, when will she be named? Who gets to name her? And do elephants sleep laying down?
September 19th, 2006 at 10:05 am
So happy to hear that the new calf is being introduced to members of the herd. While visiting on Sunday, they were separated but waited by the fence for the calf to approach so they could smell and touch her. No animal takes better care of their young than the elephant within a breeding herd. It is truly wonderful to watch.
September 19th, 2006 at 11:01 am
I was fortunate enough to visit an elephant camp in Thailand a few years ago - and fell completely in love with the elephants there. They have the sweetest personalities - and just love to play and investigate their new visitors - especially the babies. It was a thrill to get to play with one of the youngest elephants there - and definitely the highlight of my trip. Congrats to the WAP and the new addition to the elephant family!
September 19th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
Thank you, Fred, for the update on our new baby girl elephant. I was there on Saturday and fell in love with her, she is so cute. Love how she was going to the fence to see the other elephants and to see her Dad come up to see her. I am glad she is doing well and she will soon be with all of the other elephants, especially since they are so excited to see her. I can't wait to see how Musi and her get along once she is more stable on her legs. Again, thanks for the update; we all appreciate these on a regular basis and to hear how each animal, no matter which kind, is doing.
September 21st, 2006 at 11:43 am
Thanks guys for another great update on our new baby girl. She's such a cutie I can't get enough of her. It's so sweet how she follows mom everywhere she goes - like her little shadow. Please keep the updates coming - and more pictures, if possible. Do you think her many, many, many fans will have an opportunity to help name her?!?! Thanks again.
September 21st, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Great view of the baby girl and her mom yesterday. She is walking more steadily on her feet now. I caught a glimpse of her earlier today. She sticks so close to her mom's legs that I am afraid she will trip and the baby will get caught under her. From a distance they blend into one body with a slightly bulging back leg on Umngani.
Which of the other females tends to spend the most time with mom and baby? I got slightly confused in Fred's blog above because two different females were mentioned, Lungile and Litsemba.
September 22nd, 2006 at 1:16 pm
I don't think a zoo concerned with animal conservation should be bringing more elephants into the world, when they are culling elephants in many parts of Africa.
September 23rd, 2006 at 11:27 am
How about a contest to name Little one ? Any chance of enlarging the yard to give them more room to play ?
September 29th, 2006 at 8:49 am
The baby being born on September 11th should be named " Freedom" because although it will be remembered as a great tradegy in the U.S. Good things still happen and will remind us of our freedom we get every day and to be thankful we live in the great U.S.A.
October 4th, 2006 at 6:55 am
I just saw a great cam shot of Umngani and her calf, Musi, and his mom (?) and a couple of other elephants coming out into the yard at 6:45 AM. It was a great comparison of Musi and the baby girl side by side. It is amazing how fast an elephant calf grows. The calf followed closely beside her mom. Musi came out on his own, followed by another elephant which I think must be his mom. She had hung back in the gate for a while and finally Umngani came up beside her and went on through. Once Musi went through the lagging elephant went through too.
It is interesting to see the order in which animals move forward, especially through gates.
Can you tell any more about the interaction between the herd, Umngani, and her calf? It appeared that they were in the yard with about 4 other elephants including Musi. Are you introducing them gradually to each member of the herd? Has Mabu met his calf up close yet?
October 12th, 2006 at 5:13 am
a lovely elephant
October 12th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
When we got the newsletter on our computer, I was so excited!! Elephants are my favorite animal in any zoo. I'm so glad your facility has the resources to aid in her birth and help if necessary. I was in San Diego in March and saw the elephant enclosure and would have loved to see a baby then, but now I will have something to look forward to in the near future when I visit again. Good work to all the workers there who provide excellent care and maintance on a daily basis. It would be such a big job!! Keep up the good work and I hope there are more births in the near future!!!
October 12th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
We frequently visit the zoo for Su Lin, and your WAP for the lion camp family — We were so pleasantly surprised to see the newest and CUTEST baby elephant!!!! And more are on the way — Keep up the good work!!!!
November 27th, 2006 at 7:35 am
Do you plan to name the baby elephant, and when? Since it is not Chinese, not sure if you are waiting for 100-day ceremony. Haven't gotten to see much of it lately, as she and mom tend to be off camera. She appears to have grown quite a bit. Would love to read a quick update on her, and Musi, and if they have much interaction with each other.
November 28th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Great name for a cute girl. She was by herself out in the open earlier today. One of the rare opportunities lately to see any of the elephants. They seem to be camera shy.
February 26th, 2007 at 7:27 am
Do you have any updates on the three pregnant females? You mentioned in September the following information:
" Litsemba is due this spring, Umoya looks like she'll have a baby late summer, 2007, and Lungile should give birth sometime late 2007 or early 2008."
Since " Spring" is just 3 weeks away, do you mean March, April, May or June?
Any updates on Khosi? She is rarely on the Elephant Cam these days. But, when she is it is obvious that she is growing and doing well. How do she and Musi get along? Do they ever get a small distance away from their moms and play?