Asian Elephant was born at Ueno Ueno Zoo on October 31st last year (2020) (announcement). The newborn baby weighed 120 kg and stood 1 meter tall.

Arun immediately after birth		Taken on November 3, 2020

The gestation period for Asian Elephant is approximately 22 months, and from October 28th, as the due date approached, the mother, Uthai, was monitored 24 hours a day to ensure her safe delivery. Asian Elephant were first kept at Ueno Zoo in May 1888 (Meiji 21). 132 years passed without a single successful breeding. During this time, elephants were sacrificed as part of the culling of dangerous animals during World War II. In the traveling zoos held after the war, the large elephants with their long trunks were a favorite attraction for children. The successful breeding of Asian Elephant is a long-awaited event for us, and it also represents the continuation of the life of the father, Atti (announcement), who died of illness in August of this year.

Including this case, there have been about 14 instances of Asian Elephant breeding in Japan. Of these, four involved artificial feeding. In all of these cases, the calves died young due to fractures or other injuries. Raising baby elephants through artificial feeding is still not easy. Furthermore, while some individuals are adept at raising calves and have given birth multiple times, there are only a few recorded instances of Asian Elephant breeding in Japan.

Asian Elephant need to nurse their calves. However, because mothers can become agitated and aggressively attack their offspring, animal keeper assisted with nursing immediately after Uthai gave birth. But no matter how much they tried to guide the calf to its mother's nipple, it wouldn't latch on. Human intervention in nursing doesn't always go smoothly.

On the evening of the third day after birth, we braced ourselves and left the mother and calf alone in the birthing room, watching over them from outside. That night, we were able to confirm that the calf was nursing. animal keeper, who had been observing them since before the birth, were relieved to see that nursing was taking place. Since then, the baby elephant has been nursing dozens of times a night and is growing well.


Taken on January 13, 2021
The mother and baby elephants were introduced to the public on December 1st, and the baby elephant was named "Arun." notice We have now truly experienced the difficulties of breeding Asian Elephant, and we are praying for Arun's healthy growth.

Ueno Zoological Gardens
director Yutaka Fukuda

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"Asian Elephant "Arun" is growing up healthy and strong!” (January 14, 2021)

(January 21, 2021)