On January 15, our Asian elephant herd grew from 7 to 8 with the birth of a bouncing baby boy to elephant parents Mali and Doc.
I am always excited at the sight of any of our elephants, but being able to see a newborn elephant taking some of his first steps is a privilege that really does amount to the best day ever.
Since our County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the birth publicly on January 24, the new baby has been featured in publications and news sites across our state and beyond. It makes us proud to see our zoo recognized as one of only 11 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) that breeds this critically endangered species under the Species Survival Plan for Asian elephants.
As the leader of a non-profit whose mission is to support the zoo, I spend a lot of my time designing capital campaigns to fund zoo projects, educating people about the important conservation work taking place here and securing financial support for everything from an X-ray machine to the 50,000-gallon watering hole at Asian Elephant Preserve.
It is so nice to see the elephant barn sheltering a wonderful multi-generational herd as we envisioned. Your past and ongoing support helped to make this happen – thank you!
I would like to extend the Friends of the Zoo’s congratulations to the entire zoo staff, especially the elephant care team and our veterinary team from Cornell University, on this wonderful occasion – and to re-pledge our support for the amazing work that you do on behalf of the animals at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
My best,
Janet Agostini President + CEO Friends of the Zoo