Welcome, little girl!
The average gestation period for African elephants is 649 days or 22 months. A newborn calf averages 200 to 268 pounds. Our newest calf weighs 205 pounds. She is mother Swazi’s second offspring. Her first born, 2 1/2-year-old Macembe, was present at the time of his sister’s birth. Later that morning, “Mac” was separated from Swazi and his newborn sister to give mother and daughter a chance to bond and nurse. Mac stood close watch in an adjacent yard with two other young elephants to keep him company. All of the youngsters were very curious about the new addition. They gently reached their trunks out to touch and smell the calf.
Swazi and her calf will continue to bond in a separate yard from the rest of the herd while the newborn gets steady on her feet and learns to follow her mother closely. Mom is positioning herself as a good mom would to allow calf to nurse, and the youngster is now nursing!
The Safari Park is now home to 13 elephants: 4 adults and 9 youngsters. The adults were rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of Swaziland, where they faced being culled. A lack of space and long periods of drought created unsuitable habitat for a large elephant population in the small southern African country. Swaziland’s Big Game Parks officials felt they had two options: kill this group of elephants or export them to a zoo willing to care for the pachyderms.
At the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, elephant studies are underway on nutrition, daily walking distance, growth and development and bioacoustic communication. In Africa, a San Diego Zoo Global scientist is studying human-elephant conflicts as well as habitat range and use. In 2004, the nonprofit organization committed to contributing $30,000 yearly to Swaziland’s Big Game Parks though 2014 to fund programs like anti-poaching patrols, improved infrastructure and the purchase of additional acreage for the Big Game Parks. In addition, San Diego Zoo Global supports other elephant conservation through donations to the International Elephant Foundation, an organization that funds elephant conservation projects around the world.
The family can be seen daily at the Safari Park’s elephant habitat or via Elephant Cam or Safari Park iPhone app.
