Rose-Tu and her calf seem to be getting along

Larry Bingham, The Oregonian By Larry Bingham, The Oregonian
on August 25, 2008 at 10:25 PM, updated August 26, 2008 at 8:49 AM

Nearly a full day after Rose-Tu and her traumatized calf were reunited Sunday following his birth, the two were behaving more and more on Monday as a healthy mother and son elephant should.

» Video shows baby elephant

One day after Rose-Tu and her calf had been reunited Sunday following his traumatic birth, the two were behaving more and more Monday as a healthy mother and son elephant should.

The calf squalled when he was hungry, and his mom allowed him to nurse. He nursed so successfully that two-thirds of his meals came directly from Rose and only one-third had to be supplemented with a formula made especially for baby Asian elephants.

The calf meandered in and out of his mother's enormous legs, and she didn't step on him or kick him as she had when he was born Saturday and keepers had to rush in and separate the two for the calf's safety.

The calf leaned against her wrinkled side, and she gathered him between her front legs, a sign of affection.

As the touching continued in a positive way, zookeepers slowly loosened some of the chains restricting Rose-Tu's behavior. The keepers also gave the harnessed infant a little more rope as they inched farther away from the interaction.

"I'm really pleased to say at this point in time we've removed many of those restrictions," said Mike Keele, deputy director of the Oregon Zoo.

Baby elephant facts

Name: Yet to be named

Weight: 286 pounds

Arrival time: 3:56 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23

Mother: Rose-Tu

Father: Tusko

Place in history: 28th baby elephant born at the Oregon Zoo

Zoo heritage: Comes into a storied breeding program. Packy arrived in 1962, first elephant born in North America in 40 years.

When can I see him? Not yet known

At 3:50 p.m., the pair made even more progress.

The calf fell asleep standing beside his mother after nursing. Then she fell asleep standing beside him. They slept together this way for 20 minutes.

Then the calf lay down beneath her legs, where a calf normally sleeps, but putting himself in a vulnerable position. It was only the first or second time the calf had lain down to sleep, and the shift in movement awakened his 7,600-pound mom.

But Rose-Tu didn't harm him.

Instead, she reached out and touched him with her trunk.

For keepers, it was one more small step forward, another sign she is growing calmer and more comfortable around him.

The goal of the process is to teach Rose-Tu healthy maternal behavior so she may one day raise the infant without assistance from the zoo staff. Although there is little data on what the baby's chance of survival would be without her help, elephants raised by their mothers fare better than those hand-raised by humans, Keele said.

Keepers say it's too early to say with confidence if Rose-Tu will raise the infant alone. That also means it is too early to say when the pair will be presented to the public for viewing.

As for naming the baby, officials will wait until they are confident the infant is healthy and thriving. If all goes well, keepers will probably choose five names from the Thai tradition and invite the public to vote on a favorite.

Because adult male elephants live apart from the herd, the calf will one day leave the Oregon Zoo, though Keele doesn't expect that to happen until he enters puberty and the females of the herd push him away, which is at least four or five years away.

The next step is to continue the round-the-clock reintroduction and care. The zoo's two other females, Chendra and Shine, spent Monday afternoon lazing in the sun, after Rose wouldn't let them sleep much during her grueling 30 hours of labor.

The ultimate goal is to reunite the two females with Rose and her son, so they can bring him into the herd and also help teach her how to raise him.

"Once the calf is part of the herd, it's going to be a different experience for all of them as the calf grows up," Keele said. "It's really enriching for them. The critics say we want a live calf so we can put it on display and bring in a lot of visitors, but that's not what we want. We want a healthy calf that contributes to the herd."

The birth resurrected on the Internet the on-going and often bitter debate about captivity and breeding programs for the endangered species.

"There is a campaign against elephants in zoos, so we were not surprised," said zoo spokesman Bill La Marche said. "We believe when people make a connection with an animal that they'll care about that animal's habitat and whether that species survives. Our critics see it differently."

-- Larry Bingham;