The Smithsonian National Zoo is
home to 6 Asian Elephant, Elephas maximus, females. Three of the animals came to the zoo just three years ago
after the new habitat opened. They
were formally housed at the Calgary Zoo in Canada, but because of climate
restrictions spent most of the year inside an elephant "barn". With the recommendation of the AZA and
under the association's newer guidelines, zoos in Canada are de-acquisitioning
their elephants in favor of zoo's in warmer climates. Additionally, the AZA is seeking placements that keep
elephants in groups of at least 4 to promote their social wellbeing.
One complaint that I have to make
of the National Zoo--the sightlines suck!
Having established this fact, the first elephant we meet is the youngest
in the herd. Her name is Maharani,
but she will answer to Rani. She
is one of the three elephants from Calgary. She was born in 1990 on July 14th. In Canada, she was naturally bred three times, and in each
case the newborns died. She is
currently being prepped, after a hiatus of 4 years, for her first round of
artificial insemination. It is
hoped that by the summer she will be pregnant an on her journey of a 2 year
gestation period. The last picture
of Rani catches her mother, Kamala, in the background.
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| Maharani |
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| Maharani and her mother in the background, Kamala. |
Later I caught some photos of
Ambika. Ambika is 69! and the
second oldest Asian Elephant in North America. She was in India in the year it became an independent
nation, 1948. Worked her early
life from age 8 to age 13 in the logging industry in India, and in 1961 came to
the National Zoo. She has seen it
all! One can only wonder what she
makes of her newly designed habitat, one of the most spacious and interactive
for Asian Elephants in a zoo in the world. At her age, she often naps in the afternoon. She does this standing up--and in the
first photo with her trunk slung over the bar of the enclosure. Ambika is the only member of the herd
from India, the other five are from genetic strains native to Sri Lanka.
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| The new enclosure is one of the largest in any zoo for Asian Elephants |
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