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Raja the Elephant to Become a Father

Posted on: Thursday, 20 May 2004, 06:00 CDT

ST. LOUIS - Seems like only yesterday he was the bouncing baby boy of the St. Louis Zoo. Now, Raja the elephant is about to become a daddy.

Considered the zoo's top attraction since his much-celebrated birth 11 years ago, Raja and 23-year-old newcomer Sri are expecting a little one ... relatively little, anyway ... in October of November 2005, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

"Every birth is exciting, no matter what the species, but with an elephant there is so much planning and waiting," said Martha Fischer, curator of mammals/ungulates at the zoo. "It is a wonderful thing when a 275-pound baby enters the world."

Raja's birth in 1993 was greeted with publicity and parties. About 10,000 visitors turned out for his first public appearance, and 44,000 fans submitted name suggestions.

Fischer expects that same sort of excitement this time around.

Tests indiciate that Sri (pronounced See) is four months along; elephants carry their calves for a term of 20 to 22 months.

Zoo staff is monitoring Sri's diet of hay and produce and will devise an exercise plan for the winter months. She will continue to roam her yard at the zoo's River's Edge with friends Donna, Ellie and Rani. As for Raja, in typical bull form, he sticks to himself.

"In Raja's mind, his work is done," Fischer said.

Though many visitors still view Raja as a youngster, Fischer said he has been ready to sire an offspring for some time. The zoo welcomed potential mate Ellie and her daughter Rani from the Jacksonville Zoo in 2001. The next year, Sri arrived from the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Raja and Ellie didn't connect, but he charmed Sri.

"They seemed to hit it off from the get-go," Fischer said. "They ate side-by-side.

"And when she was in heat, they got along very well."

If the baby elephant is a girl, it probably will stay in St. Louis with her mother. A son may stay, too, though the American Zoo and Aquarium Association may send it to another zoo to breed. The association manages breeding at more the 200 North American zoos. The St. Louis Zoo will continue to try to mate Raja with Ellie and now Rani.

Michael Hutchins, the association's director of conservation and science, said about 300 elephants reside in 80 North American zoos. Studies conducted in American zoos about elephant behavior, reproductive cycles and communication inform conservation efforts. Only some 37,000 to 48,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild.

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