Powell, OH – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium family is growing! Asian elephant, Phoebe, is expecting a big bundle of joy this summer!
Phoebe is in the third trimester of her pregnancy and will likely give birth to her calf in mid- to late June. Elephants have the longest gestational period of all mammals, lasting approximately 22 months. At birth, newborn elephant calves can weigh between 200 and 300 pounds and stand approximately 3 feet tall.
Thanks to the incredible bond she shares with her care team, over the last several months, Phoebe has voluntarily participated in regular ultrasound imaging, which has enabled staff to monitor the calf’s development through the imaging. Ultrasound imaging is not used to determine the sex of elephant calves while in the womb, and the team will determine the sex of the calf when the calf is born. The Zoo’s Animal Care team will continue to monitor Phoebe closely, and she will be tended to 24 hours a day during the later stages of her pregnancy.
Phoebe came to the Columbus Zoo in January 2002 and now resides in Central Ohio alongside the other five Asian elephants in the Asia Quest region—males Hank (this calf’s father) and Beco (Phoebe’s son), and females Connie, Sunny and Rudy. This calf will be Phoebe’s fourth calf born at the Columbus Zoo and her fifth calf overall. Her last calf, Ellie, sadly passed away a few weeks after her birth in 2018 due to a bacterial infection despite aggressive treatment by the Animal Health team and outside specialists. Just two other Asian elephants have been born at the Columbus Zoo throughout the Zoo’s history – Beco in 2009 and Bodhi, who was born in 2004 and now resides at Denver Zoo.
In addition to the exciting news about Phoebe’s calf’s upcoming arrival, her pregnancy is offering hope for Asian elephant conservation efforts. The pairing of 33-year-old Phoebe and 33-year-old father, Hank, was recommended by the Species Survival Plan® (SSP), a program coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to maintain genetic diversity of threatened and endangered species in human care. While Phoebe and Hank had the opportunity to breed, this has been unsuccessful in the past and she was artificially inseminated. Artificial insemination is carefully coordinated by animal health experts and enables an elephant to be impregnated at her most fertile time. While this is still a relatively rare procedure for elephants, most successful elephant artificial insemination attempts (approximately 20 in total) have occurred with African elephants. Artificial insemination is very uncommon with Asian elephants, with less than 10 successful outcomes. Two of these scientific achievements have occurred at the Columbus Zoo (with the first time occurring in Phoebe in 2016). Attempts to artificially inseminate elephants are becoming more frequent to bolster the numbers of endangered elephants, whose populations continue to rapidly decline in their native range.
“Every elephant calf is precious and vital to the survival of this endangered species. We are proud to celebrate Phoebe’s pregnancy with our fellow zoological colleagues and conservation partners, as well as our Central Ohio community and beyond. Conservation is a collective effort, and thanks to everyone’s involvement and support, together we can continue working toward achieving these milestones that contribute to efforts protecting the future of elephants and other incredible species,” said Columbus Zoo President/CEO Tom Stalf.
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is also a long-time supporter of several direct elephant conservation initiatives benefitting both African and Asian elephants, including annual donations to the International Elephant Foundation and several research projects and grants over the last 25 years. Many of these projects have focused on reducing human-elephant conflict and monitoring elephant populations in their native ranges. Additionally, Columbus Zoo staff leads AZA’s SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Asian Elephant Program, an AZA initiative to leverage their large audiences and collective expertise to save animals from extinction. Zoo guests can also learn about elephant conservation and how they can contribute to the sustainability of this endangered species at the Zoo’s Elephant Conservation Station inside the “Vanishing Giants” building located in the Asia Quest region. Zoo veterinary staff also participate in a national Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) advisory group. The group aims to prevent, diagnose and treat this potentially fatal disease that affects elephants in their native range, and in human care.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species,™ Asian elephants are listed as endangered in their native range across southern and southeastern Asia and are in decline due to various factors including habitat loss/degradation and poaching. The World Elephant Day organization estimates there are fewer than 40,000 Asian elephants and less than 400,000 African elephants remaining worldwide.
For additional updates about the Columbus Zoo’s animals, events, and more, be sure to follow the Zoo’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and visit us at ColumbusZoo.org.
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About the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Home to more than 10,000 animals representing over 600 species worldwide, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium leads and inspires by connecting people and wildlife. The Zoo complex is a recreational and education destination that includes the 22-acre Zoombezi Bay water park and 18-hole Safari Golf Course. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium also manages The Wilds, a 10,000-acre conservation center and safari park located in southeastern Ohio. The Zoo is a regional attraction with global impact, annually contributing privately raised funds to support conservation projects worldwide. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Columbus Zoo has earned Charity Navigator’s prestigious 4-star rating.
