Samudra, Our New Baby Elephant! After 31 hours of labor, Rose-Tu had a 286-pound male baby at 3:56 p.m. on Aug. 23. The baby is strong and doing well in spite of the fact that Rose-Tu showed aggression toward it immediately after the birth, causing keepers to temporarily separate the two. Mom and baby have since been reunited and are doing well. Since things have settled down a bit, we won't be posting updates as frequently, but we'll keep you informed as new milestones occur. Want more details? Read the press releases. Learn more about our Asian elephants. Watch the Videos! The Birth | Mom & Baby Bonding | Meet the Calf | Vet Check-up Explore Outside | With Mom & Chendra

Wednesday, Nov. 12
Samudra weighed 540 pounds today. He played in his tub during his mom’s bath and had a grand time. He also played in a fountain coming from the water hose in the east yard. He really likes water!

Thursday, Oct. 23
Samudra is 2 months old today! He's a big boy, and tipped the scales at 467 pounds yesterday.

Oct. 18-19
Sam got a tub full of water to play in and had a blast! Rose-Tu, Shine, Chendra and Sam all enjoyed organic cornstalks.

Thursday, Oct. 16
Samudra's getting teeth! Keepers say Sam's teeth, which they saw for the first time today, look like two small pieces of corn stuck to each side of the roof of his mouth.

Tuesday, Oct. 14
Sam was curious and interactive throughout the day, and keepers have noted that he's becoming more independent. At one point, he stopped following Rose-Tu through the barn, going off to investigate a metal tub on his own. Another time, he was seen chasing after Chendra in the yard. Keepers report Rose-Tu is allowing more distance between herself and Samudra, and that Shine is now very tolerant of the calf. Sam's weight today was 445.7 pounds!

Thursday, Oct. 2
Sam weighed in at more than 402 pounds today! He continues to develop well, and is spending most of the day in the east yard with the females, exploring and learning how to use his trunk.

Monday, Sept. 29
Rose-Tu and Sam went into the pool on their own via the steep slope today. Chendra soon joined them and all three elephants played for several minutes before sanding themselves in the tire area.

Tuesday, Sept. 23
Sam and the females continue to do well as a group. He is exploring his surroundings and interacting well with the other elephants. Today, he "fell" into the pool as he was going around the slope. He called out and all three cows came running. Rose-Tu, who was nearby, quickly made her way over to help him out.

Thursday, Sept. 18
Sam is spending more and more time with Mom and his "aunties" in the back yard. Today, he entered the pool several times, and spent a lot of time exploring, playing in soft sand and trying to climb on top of objects. The "little" guy now weighs more than 350 pounds and is gaining weight daily, just as he should be.

Monday, Sept. 15
Over the weekend, the newly named Samudra spent time more time with his "aunties," Chendra and Shine. Shine at last seems to be warming up to the calf and is no longer keeping her distance from him.

Chendra's just enjoying the fact that everybody's paying attention to Sam, so she gets to eat a ton of food by herself! Keepers put some water in the pool, and the calf is learning how to go down there and splash around with his mom. Previously, he'd been really excited by the water, but now he's a little bit nervous.

Monday, Sept. 8
The calf now weighs about 310 pounds and is sleeping and nursing normally during the day. Currently the calf is being introduced to his "Aunt" Chendra, and both are doing great! He runs after her and wants to play. Chendra was even tolerant of his attempts to nurse from her. That's a great sign.

Thursday, Sept. 4
He's growing fast! At yesterday's vet check, the calf weighed in at almost 300 pounds! Rose-Tu and her calf spent a couple of hours in the east yard this morning with Shine, the herd's matriarch. Shine kept her distance and did not seem comfortable with calf yet, but there was plenty of excitement all around. This introduction will be a slow and deliberate process to ensure the baby's safety.

Monday, Sept. 1
Rose-Tu and her calf continue to do well. The calf nursed, gaining energy to run around the exhibit and "spin" in circles. He also let mom get some sleep, even though he was climbing on her.

Sunday afternoon, Aug. 31
Visiting hours for Rose-Tu and her calf were extended again this afternoon, as both calmly enjoyed their day on exhibit. The calf is stretching his boundaries and wandering away from mom to investigate his exhibit. He spent several hours in a different area of the barn for a routine vet check that was followed by a bath with his mom, one of his favorite activities.


Saturday afternoon, Aug. 30
Rose-Tu and her calf were given a bath before their public debut. Both were calm throughout the day -- calm enough for the calf to nap through portions of the day. Everything went so well that visiting hours were extended past the announced 3 p.m. closing time to 4:30 p.m. (This may not be the case tomorrow.) Keepers kept the pair looking great by brushing them off before their lunch.


Friday afternoon, Aug. 29
Hurrah! We get to show you our baby tomorrow. Details are the front page of our web site.

Staff and volunteers got to see him today as a sort of trial run. Rose-Tu seemed very calm and the baby fell asleep while we were watching. He's really, really cute. A tip: Be sure to take MAX if you come up to see him because our parking lot will be....well....a zoo!


Thursday afternoon, Aug. 28
Rose-Tu and her calf enjoyed a quiet day today. She is calmer now and stands still more often to allow the calf to nurse. Keepers moved them to another room for a change in scenery while the maintenance staff install a cable across the front room's bars. The calf has been squeezing through the bars, out of reach of mom. She keeps tabs on him as he explores and goes to get him when he strays too far away.

Introductions between the calf and his "aunties," Chendra and Sung-Surin (known as Shine) will continue this evening or tomorrow through the "howdy gate."


Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 27
This afternoon, Rose-Tu and her new baby had visual access to herd-mates, Shine and Chendra, through a "howdy gate." It was fairly quiet and calm.

The adult elephants were able to reach over the top of the gate with their trunks to make contact with each other, which seemed to calm Rose-Tu.

At first, Chendra and Shine noticed only Rose-Tu, but the calf started vocalizing with a low rumble. When Shine saw the calf, she lowered her head so that she was at his eye level.

Tuesday morning, Aug. 26
Yesterday afternoon the calf was tired and a bit wobbly from lack of sleep. He slept under his mom for an hour and a half in the evening and got more sleep in the early morning. He seems more rested now and is trotting around, following his mother. He's nursing exclusively from Rose-Tu now, so keepers no longer need to feed him supplemental formula. As of 7 a.m., Rose-Tu is no longer tethered and the calf has full access to her. Keepers will continue to supervise the two on a 24-hour basis as they bond and get more comfortable with each other. The next step will be introducing the youngster to Shine and Chendra, the other members of Rose-Tu's herd. This will initially be done with what keepers call a "howdy gate," where they will be able to see, but not have contact with, the baby.



Monday afternoon, Aug. 25
Rose-Tu and her calf have been together since 5 p.m. last night, supervised by keepers. She's letting him nurse and gently tucks him underneath her when he does so. She's so relaxed during nursing, it sometimes looks like she's sleeping. The baby continues to get stronger and is sucking heartily. When Rose-Tu appears too tired to nurse, keepers supplement his diet with elephant formula, delivered via a 12-ounce bottle with a large, specially crafted nipple. The baby elephant is taking in about 10 to 12 liters a day, according to animal care staff. About two-thirds of that amount is milk from Rose-Tu, and the other third is formula.

Monday morning, Aug. 25
Over the last 24 hours, keepers have been giving Rose-Tu controlled contact with her baby. When she touches him in a nuturing way, she gets a treat from the keepers. She's even been tolerant of his efforts to nurse from her.

Sunday afternoon, Aug. 24
No, the baby doesn't have a name yet. After we get some rest from this eventful weekend, we'll post a ballot on this site for you to vote for your favorite name.

Sunday morning, Aug. 24
Things are looking fairly good. The keepers tell us they have given Rose-Tu opportunities to see and even touch trunks with the baby. When the baby calls, Rose-Tu answers. But the keepers still don't completely trust her. They want her to rest, and they want the baby to be a little stronger before efforts proceed to reunite the two. In the meantime, they are feeding the baby a mixture of Rose-Tu's milk and formula through a tube and he is getting stronger.

Saturday evening, Aug. 23, 11 p.m.
Elephants, keepers and vet staff are exhausted, but cautiously optimistic after the 36-hour ordeal. Some of the staff will spend the night on baby watch while others go home and get some sleep.

Saturday evening, Aug 23, 8 p.m.
Things are looking up. The baby seems unharmed by his mother's rough treatment of him. He is standing up and has strong suckling response. X-rays don't show any broken bones or internal injuries. When you weigh 286 pounds, you can hold up to some pushing and shoving!


Saturday afternoon, Aug. 23, 5 p.m.
Vet staff and keepers are surrounding the baby in the front viewing room of the elephant barn, examining him to see if injuries were sustained. They don't see anything obvious, but will be X-raying the baby to make sure he's OK. They've gotten him up on his feet and have weighed him. He's HUGE! 286 pounds! That's very large, even for an elephant baby. He's also extremely cute. Photos of his tiny feet and his gigantic eyes threw us into a fit of smiles. We're hoping for the best.


Saturday afternoon, Aug. 23, 4 p.m.
Whew! That was intense! Twenty minutes or so after the labor-inducing injection, Rose-Tu started pushing earnestly. Those of us watching on the monitor in the Elephant Museum, out of earshot of the elephant barn, cheered with each big contraction. After a very long day, we were SO ready for the baby to appear! Then we saw what looked like two tiny feet. Then the confusion began. First Rose-Tu carefully stepped over the baby, still in its natal membrane, and kicked at it to complete the delivery. Then she started pushing it around. We were horrified. The keepers quickly intervened and pulled the newborn out of her reach. The video feed cut off and we all took the first breath we'd taken in several minutes. A few minutes later, Mike, our deputy director, came over with a grave face. From his look, we assumed the worst. But that wasn't what we heard. We heard that the vets had examined the baby, and there were no broken bones, but they were very concerned about possible internal injuries from the kicking. But the baby was on its feet. It might be OK.

Saturday afternoon, Aug. 23, 3 p.m.
The keepers have decided it's going on too long. It's been 3 1/2 hours since the water broke. They let us know they will be giving her an injection to induce labor. It will take about 20 minutes to take effect.

Saturday afternoon, Aug. 23, 2 p.m.
We're all still patiently waiting, but nothing is happening. Rose-Tu backs into the corner. She walks forward. She picks up a foot. She eats a bite of hay. She takes 30-second catnaps. She tosses cedar shavings on her back. Shine walks over and checks on her. Our eyes are glued to the camera, but there's not much to see.

Saturday morning, Aug. 23, 11:30 a.m.
Rose-Tu mostly just walks and stands around, but every once in a while, we see hopeful signs. She squats a bit and pushes. She picks up one leg. She generally looks uncomfortable. We're sympathetic. Then someone notices a wet spot in the corner that is interesting to all three elephants. They sniff it with their trunks. Word comes from the barn. Her water has broken.

Saturday morning, Aug. 23, 6 a.m.
When we arrived shortly after dawn, word came from the barn that things have progressed and the birth could be at any time. We settle in to watch on a big video screen in the Elephant Museum. Reporters, zoo staff and volunteers (including web staff!) are in the front. We've roped off some areas for visitors to join us and watch when the zoo opens. There's Rose-Tu on the screen, along with her buddies, Shine and Chendra. She's pacing, she's flapping her ears. She's backing up against the wall. We watch. We're ready.

Friday evening, Aug. 22
We're all ready, but Rose-Tu is taking her time. Looks like it could be a while. The elephant keepers and vets are settling in for an overnight vigil. Linda from our media relations staff and Michael, our photographer, have brought in their sleeping bags and toothbrushes. The rest of us are going home to get some sleep.

Early Friday morning, Aug. 22
Rose-Tu has passed a mucous plug, which means she is officially in labor! Vets are guessing we'll have a baby within 24 hours. Volunteers are manning video monitors on a 24-hour basis and everyone is in place for the wait.