COLUMBUS – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is welcoming its first newborn elephant in nearly a decade, one made possible through the rarely-used process of artificial insemination.
The Asian elephant calf, whose gender has not been determined, was born at 3:09 a.m. Thursday, zoo spokeswoman Elizabeth Zimmerman said.
The calf’s mother, Phoebe, is a 31-year-old elephant who had the opportunity to breed with Hank, a 30-year-old male elephant at the zoo but attempts were unsuccessful so Zimmerman says Phoebe was artificially inseminated with sperm from Hank, as well as a male from another zoo, so the father of the calf is not yet known and will be determined through a DNA test with results expected in the coming weeks.
Artificial insemination is a relatively rare procedure for elephants – this is the first time it has been successfully used at the Columbus zoo — attempts to artificially inseminate elephants are becoming more frequent in an effort to bolster the numbers of the endangered animals.
The calf will join the herd of six Asian elephants in the zoo’s Asia Quest region but the baby and Phoebe will remain in a behind-the-scenes area for now.
The zoo will announce viewing information along with an opportunity for the public to help name the calf later.