The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC has not had a successful Asian elephant birth in nearly 25 years. So when a calf was born at 1:15 in the morning on the second day of February, keepers who had been waiting for this moment for two decades were, by their own description, overjoyed. The calf was born to 12-year-old mother Nhi Linh and 44-year-old father Spike, weighing 308 pounds and measuring 38.5 inches tall. Asian elephants are endangered, with fewer than 50,000 remaining in the world, and because the parents’ genes are not well represented in zoo populations, this calf will help strengthen the genetic diversity of the species in North America and beyond. Within five hours of birth she was walking on her own. Eleven days later, the public was invited to vote on what to name her, with every dollar donated counting as one vote and all funds going directly to elephant conservation.
Nearly 59,000 dollars later, the results were in. The calf’s name is Linh Mai, pronounced LIN-my, a Vietnamese name that translates to spirit blossom. Linh means spirit or soul, and Mai refers to the apricot blossom, a flower associated with Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The name honors the Vietnamese heritage of her mother’s name, Nhi Linh. Since the vote, keepers have been working carefully to introduce the calf to her herd, a delicate social process for a species as intelligent and emotionally sensitive as elephants. An older elephant named Swarna has taken on the role of auntie, staying close to the calf overnight and striking just the right balance between maternal care and letting her explore freely. Linh Mai will make her public debut at the zoo on Earth Day, April 22, with worldwide fans able to watch her live on the zoo’s Elephant Cam.
Source: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/public-has-spoken-national-zoos-new-elephant-calf-named-linh-mai
