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The Votes Are In: National Zoo’s First Elephant Calf In Decades Now Has Her Name
She had a tiny trunk and a very big debut. Now, DC’s newest elephant finally has a name.
For the first time in nearly 25 years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute welcomed an Asian elephant calf at 1:15 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 2, inside the Elephant Barn in Washington, DC.
Nearly two weeks later, zoo officials announced the 308-pound female now answers to Linh Mai.
The name, chosen by the public through a fundraising vote, means “spirit blossom.”
Linh means “spirit” or “soul,” and Mai refers to the apricot blossom, a flower associated with Tết, the …
Tiny Trunk, Huge News: National Zoo Welcomes First Baby Asian Elephant In 25 Years (Video)
It's a girl!
For the first time in nearly 25 years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is celebrating the birth of an Asian elephant, after a healthy female calf arrived in the early morning hours on Monday, Feb. 2, officials announced.
The calf was born at 1:15 a.m. inside the Elephant Barn to first-time mother Nhi Linh, 12, following a 21-month pregnancy, according to the Zoo. The father is Spike, 44, whose genes — like Nhi Linh’s — are considered critical to strengthening the endangered species’ genetic diversity.
“This birth fills us with profo…
