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Another baby elephant is due! February 14, 2017

We gave a toast to Asha, our elephant calf, on his fourth birthday. We also announced that Asha might even get a little sibling this year. Her mother Angele is pregnant again. The foetus can be approximately 40 to 50 cm by now.

On Tuesday at noon, escorted by our visitors and the press, we gave a toast to Asha, the elephant calf born in 2013, who had her fourth birthday on Valentine’s Day.

The cause for celebration received a cake and a new toy, as is customary on birthdays.

The base of the special cake, baked especially for the elephants to savour, was layers made by the bakers from the Telek Bakery in Galgahévíz using oats, bran and flour. Between these layers, the carers put bundles of hay in such a way that the hay formed the “cream” in the cake. The cake decoration was also edible, made from bananas, apples, oranges and carrots. Apart from this, a whole sackful of peanuts was sprinkled by the carers on the top of the multi-layer delicacy. On top of this edible work of art was the number 4, made of bread dough, also by the bakers from Galgahévíz.

Obviously, the cake was not only for Asha; her mother Angele also got her share.

In addition to the cake, the carers also gave a new toy to the birthday girl. The toy, assembled from rubber tyres in the shape of a baby elephant, was made to be massive enough to be “elephant-proof”. The new toy was not only tried by Asha, but also by her mum, Angele.

At these celebrations we announced the news that Asha will get a new sibling this year. The elephant cow Angele is pregnant again. The good news was announced by dr. Endre Sós, the chief vet of our Zoo, who added that, based on the laboratory analysis of blood samples drawn from the female elephant, the progress of the pregnancy has been monitored since last spring. Currently, the foetus growing in Angele’s womb can be approximately 40 to 50 cm in size. The gestation period of elephants is around 22 months, so the baby is due to born late the autumn.

The concentration of progesterone hormone in Angele’s blood
The concentration of progesterone hormone in Angele’s blood

AngeleIn the nearly one and a half centuries of the Budapest Zoo’s history, Asian elephants have been successfully born on six occasions so far, in 1930, 1932, 1941, 1956, 1961, and 2013.

The relationship between the breeding couple, Angele and Assam, can already be considered fruitful from the breeding point of view, and there is hope that elephant calves can be expected to be born regularly in the future.

Dr.Endre SósKeeping elephants in zoos is important from numerous aspects. On the one hand, their presentation is relevant from the educational and awareness-raising perspectives. On the other hand, Asian elephants are endangered as a species and zoos can take an active role in the conservation of the species. The propagation of elephants in zoos can contribute to this but the results of research carried out in zoos are even more important, since they can be used to protect stocks living in the wild. For example, research into certain viral illnesses of elephants; the experience of maintaining small and isolated populations, or efforts to develop methods for insemination.

Our institution is considered a renowned member of the global zoo network, also from the “elephant” point of view. Accordingly, our chief vet is also a member of the elephant section of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) (such bodies are known in the zoo profession as TAGs, i.e. Taxon Advisory Groups).