Arun (male) was born on October 31, 2020, and it has now been about two years and three months. As it was her first litter, Utai was excited and it took some time for her to accept Arun immediately after giving birth, but she was able to successfully nurse him on the third day after giving birth and is doing a great job as a first-time mother. Watching her nurse is very heartwarming, and as a zookeeper, I would love to watch it forever, but it seems that the time for weaning is gradually approaching.

Wild Asian Elephant are typically weaned after about two to three years. After weaning, they stay together with their mothers for a while, but when male calves reach sexual maturity around the age of 10, they leave their birth herd and live alone or in groups of only males.

So, what is the situation with Uthai and Arun, the mother and son at our zoo? Since around the end of last year, Uthai has been increasingly refusing to nurse Arun. Possible reasons for this include the possibility that Uthai's milk supply is decreasing and becoming difficult to produce as weaning approaches, or that Arun's tusks have grown longer and are rubbing against Uthai's teats, causing her pain. In any case, two years have passed since Arun's birth, and it seems that weaning is approaching, just like with wild Asian Elephant.

Recently, Arun has also started actively eating the fresh grass, hay, straw, and bamboo that we give to Utai. As a result, Utai has started kicking and nudging Arun with his nose in an attempt to monopolize the food. We are trying to cope by increasing the amount of food, but we anticipate that it will soon become difficult for the two of them to share their current sleeping area.

As Arun grows, the relationship between Uthai and Arun is expected to gradually change. For the time being, we will work towards having Uthai and Arun live together with Surya (female), who is currently being kept alone. After that, we plan to gradually increase the distance between mother and child so that Arun can become independent. We will do our best to create as natural a life for Asian Elephant as possible, even in captivity, so we would appreciate your continued support for the elephants at Ueno Zoo.

Arun eats straw next to Uthai. Arun's droppings in the lower left corner have also grown larger than before.	Arun's fangs are still growing. The tip of the tooth is peeling, but the entire tooth will peel off in the future and become a mature tusk.

[Ueno Zoo East Garden Animal Care and Exhibition Staff]

(January 29, 2023)