Taronga’s baby elephant says ‘Hello world’
Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has released footage of its new baby elephant – the first ever to be born on Australian soil earlier this month – and finally given the animal a name.
Taronga officials announced Tuesday that the Asian elephant calf would be called “Luk Chai”, meaning “my son” in Thai, following a competition in which 30,000 entries were received.
The name reflects Luk Chai’s ancestry as his mother, Thong Dee, is a rescued Bangkok street elephant.
Luk Chai’s arrival has brought thousands of extra visitors to the zoo since his birth on 4 July.
“Communities across NSW have embraced this competition and I would like to thank everyone who participated,” said New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees.
“The only thing that has been lacking to make this picture complete is a name. The name recognised the young elephant’s Thai heritage, as well as his boisterous, inquisitive nature.”
Other suggestions included Michael Jackson, because of the elephant’s tendency to walk backwards, and Rainbow Boy, because there was a rainbow seen every day for a week after the elephant’s birth.
Taronga Zoo Chief Executive Guy Cooper said the calf was making “marvelous” progress, gaining 20 percent in weight since its birth, tipping the scales at 108 kilograms and consuming 12 litres of milk per day. Survival rates for first calves are typically no better than 50-50.
Luk Chai is the first success of Taronga’s elephant breeding programme but Australian wildlife experts expect a “baby boom” over the next few years.
Two more of Taronga’s cows are also pregnant with Porntip, the matriarch of the herd, expecting a calf in early 2010, after being impregnated by artificial insemination.
Pak Boon is due to give birth in early 2011 – at around 22 months elephants have the longest gestation period of any land animal – after falling naturally pregnant to the herd’s male elephant, Gung, who also fathered Luk Chai.
Several elephants at Melbourne Zoo are also pregnant as part of the same programme, implemented with advice from experts from the Berlin Institute of Wildlife Research.