If you’ve been following Bored Panda news for long enough, you might have stumbled upon an article from a bit over a year ago, late November of 2020.
While the world was preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic back then, a zoo in Oklahoma shared an ultrasound of a baby elephant that made the world stop for a second and all go aww.
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Yep, the internet might be obsessed with baby animals, but this is a new level because this baby wasn’t even born back then.
But now he is. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Rama, the Asian elephant born to parents Asha and Rex.
More Info: Oklahoma City Zoo | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Remember the baby elephant ultrasound everyone was talking about back in late November of 2020?
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Rama (meaning “pleasing” in Sanskrit) the Asian elephant first came up on the internet radar back in late November of 2020, when Oklahoma City Zoo announced its beloved then 25-year-old mommy elephant Asha, now 26 years of age, was pregnant.
The announcement was made when Asha was 8 months pregnant—that is 8 of the 22 total months (about 660 days) elephant pregnancies last. The original prognosis was sometime in February, 2022, which back then felt like a long way away, but here we are. Rama was born on January 20, 2022, at 8:26 p.m., inside the Zoo’s elephant barn at Sanctuary Asia.
Well, the day has finally come and the tiny elephant in that ultrasound has been born
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Throughout the pregnancy, zookeeping and veterinary teams were giving their undivided attention to make sure Asha’s pregnancy went smoothly. And it did. She gave birth to her now fourth calf (and also the fourth one born in OKC Zoo), and her first male offspring.
Speaking of numbers, Rama also bring the Oklahoma City Zoo Asian elephant count to 8, with the other seven elephants being Bamboo (54), Rex (53), Asha (26), Chandra (25), Kandula (20), Achara (7), and Kairavi (3).
The newborn baby elephant was named Rama, which is Sanskrit for “pleasing”, on January 20th, 2022
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: OKC Zoo
Chandra, Asha’s sister, as well as Achara and Kairavi, who are her other two children, were present in the barn during the birth, allowing them to observe the delivery—a crucial part in helping the family connect with their newest member.
Now, why is all of this important? As mentioned in our previous article, Asian elephants are an endangered species. Back then, Rachel Emory, Oklahoma City Zoo’s Curator of Elephants and Rhinos, explained that Asian elephants have lost around 93% of their habitat to date, forcing elephants to compete with humans and other members of the animal kingdom for resources.
Rama is the fourth offspring and the first son of 26-year-old Asian elephant mother Asha
Image credits: OKC Zoo
Image credits: OKC Zoo
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
This is besides all of the poaching for elephant ivory and skin, as well as disease, namely the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, which can cause a highly fatal hemorrhagic (bleeding) disease when transmitted to young Asian elephants.
As a result, the Asian elephant populations in the wild have fallen below 40,000. So, Rama’s role in the Asian elephant survival is one of great importance, with the zoo claiming he’ll become an ambassador for his species, and the salvation of this majestic animal depends on new generations, a part of which Rama has now become.
OKC Zoo is now home to a total of 8 Asian elephants: Bamboo (54), Rex (53), Asha (26), Chandra (25), Kandula (20), Achara (7), and Kairavi (3)
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
Image credits: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
You can check out the zoo’s special video celebrating the birth of Rama below
Image credits: OKC Zoo
Oklahoma City Zoo is committed to the restoration of Asian elephant populations through education and investing in various conservation projects. And you can join the cause by donating, or at the very least following them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube and spreading the word.
And you can also read more about Asha, Rama before he was born, and other elephants in our previous article here. But before you go, tell us your thoughts, and share your congratulations to the elephant family in the comment section below!
The post Oklahoma City Zoo Celebrates Birth of Rama The Asian Elephant, Who Got Famous With His Ultrasound Even Before He Was Born first appeared on Bored Panda.
Source: boredpanda.com