Five-Day Old Baby Elephant Meets Auntie

Trumpeting could be heard throughout Elephant Lands Wednesday afternoon as Rose-Tu introduced her new calf to Sung-Surin, also known as Shine. The three elephants greeted one another, touched trunks and shared a snack — hay for Rose-Tu and Shine, with a side of milk for the calf.

“Asian elephants live in family groups, and each new member is so important — not just to the mom but to everyone in the herd,” said Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s elephant program. “Shine will be an auntie and mentor to this baby, so it’s wonderful to see them bonding already.”

The other members of the elephant family will get to meet Rose’s new calf in the coming weeks. Lefave says care staff are thrilled with how things are going so far.

“Having a new calf in the family is exciting for the entire herd,” Lefave said. “Every elephant will have a role to play in caring for the baby.”

After more than 20 months of pregnancy, Rose-Tu gave birth to her new calf on Saturday, Feb. 1. Staff are keeping their distance to give the pair time to bond, but the baby appears to be a healthy, strong female, weighing in the vicinity of 200 pounds.

“We couldn’t be happier with how everything is going so far,” Lefave said. “This was one of the smoothest births I’ve ever seen. Rose knew just what to do. She helped her baby up right away. The kid was standing on her own within 15 minutes and took her first steps soon after that.”