ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - There's a new baby elephant at Saint Louis Zoo and it's only the second ever male born there – the first was its dad, Raja.
The Zoo announced the birth of a male Asian elephant calf at 1:55 p.m. on Monday. Rani (pronounced “Ronnie”), the Zoo’s 23-year-old Asian elephant, gave birth to a yet-to-be-named baby boy.
“Rani and baby are doing very well,” said Tim Thier, Curator of Mammals/Ungulates and River’s Edge, and Director, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Center for Asian Elephant Conservation. “We’re thrilled to welcome Raja’s first son into our three-generation elephant family."
The Zoo’s bull elephant, 27-year-old Raja, is the father. He was the first Asian elephant ever born at the Zoo in 1992, and this calf is his fifth offspring.
An elephant pregnancy lasts about 22 months and a newborn weighs about 250-350 pounds.
Rani is part of a 10-member, three-generation elephant family that includes her new calf, Ellie (mother), Maliha, Jade (daughter), Priya, Donna, Sri, Pearl and Raja at the Zoo’s River’s Edge and Elephant Woods habitats. Rani and Ellie arrived at the Saint Louis Zoo in 2001 from the Jacksonville Zoo, where Rani was born in 1996.
Mother and baby are bonding off public view and a debut date has not been set.
For updates on Rani, her calf and other information on the Zoo’s elephant family, visit stlzoo.org/elephants.