2024-06-18 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo
Tess, a 40-year-old Asian elephant at Houston Zoo, has been given the first-ever dose of an mRNA vaccine created by virologists at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to prevent the deadly elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) 1A—a devastating viral disease in Asian elephants worldwide. Over the next few weeks, animal care experts and veterinary staff at Houston Zoo will closely monitor Tess to learn how effective this vaccine is for elephants.
2021-05-17 - Houston, United States.
Just two months after baby elephant Winnie was born, there’s a new pachyderm in the herd! Sunday at 8:04 p.m., 37-year-old Asian elephant Tess gave birth to a 391-pound male, and the calf began to nurse within hours. The calf has been named Teddy by the team who have dedicated their lives to the care, well-being, and conservation of these incredible animals.
2021-03-11 - Houston, United States.
The mother and her newborn, who has not yet been named, will undergo continued post-natal exams and spend several days bonding before they join the rest of the elephants. This is the first calf for Tupelo, whose pregnancy was the result of artificial insemination since she is related to all the male elephants at the zoo.
2020-10-12 - Houston, United States. Elephant Managers Association
For the first time, EMA will host our annual conference virtually, free to all members! EMA will host the EMA virtual conference the same week as previously scheduled via Zoom
2020-09-22 - Houston, United States. Elephant Managers Association (EMA)
Join the herd! Walk, bike, swim, or hike in honor of elephants around the world on Elephant Appreciation Day, September 22, 2020. By signing up for this virtual 5K event, proceeds will go to the EMA to aid in our mission: enhancing the welfare and survival of the world's elephants through improving communication, husbandry, research, education, and conservation.
2014-02-04 - Houston, United States.
Zookeepers and volunteers are now watching around the clock for any signs of labor in Shanti. “She might swap her tail, lift her legs, maybe she can’t get as comfortable at night. Oftentimes too, you’ll see her lift her tail like she’s straining a little bit.” Like elephants in the wild, Shanti will give birth standing up, and gravity will help the calf drop out of her. The calf might weigh 350 pounds or more.
2013-10-31 - Houston, United States.
Houston Zoo is making preparations for 23-year-old Asian elephant Shanti to give birth in January 2014. Shanti gets regular ultrasounds and zookeepers have been monitoring her weight and her diet and leading the expectant mother through a regular exercise program. The night watch pregnancy monitoring will begin in late November and will continue until the calf´s birth.
2013-09-14 - Houston, United States.
A $459,147 grant will support a research project focusing on elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). The research resulted from a collaboration between Baylor College of Medicine and the Houston Zoo and now also includes Johns Hopkins University and the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park.
2011-12-26 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of a progressive elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program has become a state of the art program and facility. We recently opened another new Elephant exhibit, tripling the elephant’s usable space.
2011-10-12 - Houston, United States.
An elephant exhibit sets great zoos apart from the ordinary. That is why the Houston zoo is proud to announce the latest improvement to the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The end result of two years of planning and construction, the latest addition represents a six-fold expansion of the Habitat since the opening of the 7,000 square foot elephant barn and improved viewing areas in June 2008. The new addition adds 1.5 acres to the elephant’s outside habitats.
2010-10-05 - Houston, United States. Caroline Gallay
The Houston Zoo welcomed its second baby Asian elephant in less than five months on Sunday evening. Baby Tupelo joins Baylor at the zoo´s McNair Asian Elephant Habitat, where the newborn is bonding with her mother, Tess. The baby weighed in at 273 pounds and is a half sister of Baylor, who was born May 4 to mom Shanti and bull elephant Thailand. Thailand is also the new baby elephant´s dad.
2010-08-05 - Houston, United States.
A sensitive real-time PCR test that specifically detects a deadly strain of herpes virus in elephants has been developed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. The findings appear in the current edition of the American Journal of Veterinary Research. There are many strains of herpes viruses that affect elephants, but in particular the endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV1) is deadly. No symptoms are seen until it is too late, and treatment options are limited because little is known about ...
2010-05-28 - Houston, Texas, United States. Daryl Hoffman
Baby Baylor’s family just doubled overnight. The first few days after Baylor was born he spent all of his time with his mother, Shanti. Zoo keepers wanted to be sure that he and his mom bonded well and that he knew where to go to eat. The keepers also wanted to be sure that Shanti knew what to do when Baylor was hungry or needed her help. Once the team was comfortable with their behaviors and actions, we introduced “aunt” Methai. Methai is an experienced elephant that has been around man...
2010-05-06 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo
After a pregnancy lasting almost 23 months, Shanti, a 19-year-old Asian elephant, delivered a healthy 348-pound male calf Tuesday morning at the Houston Zoos McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The calf has been named Baylor by the Zoos elephant care team in recognition of the unprecedented and ongoing advances made by Baylor College of Medicines research team to significantly reduce the threat of a potentially lethal elephant herpes virus.
2010-03-27 - Houston, United States. Kelly Russo
Shantis due date is rapidly approaching, so the zoos volunteers and the Elephant team have started to monitor her 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Over 35 volunteers have given their time to help the Elephant team keep an eye on Shanti. The volunteers started to monitor Shanti on February 20th and are at the zoo from 4PM – 7AM every day.
2010-02-04 - Houston, Texas, United States. Allan Turner
It's stork time at the Houston Zoo's elephant barn as the maternity countdown begins for Shanti and Tess, endangered Asian elephants whose pregnancies, officials hope, will bring success to a pachyderm breeding program thus far marked by failure. Zoo officials Thursday staged a maternity “boot camp” in which they outlined efforts to ensure live births and the survival of the calves. In 25 years of zoo breeding efforts, all 14 calves died before or relatively soon after birth. Six of the calv...
2009-10-15 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is pleased to announce that the 2009 Elephant Managers Association Annual Conference and Workshops will be held October 15 – 19 in Houston, TX. This meeting will include presentations on a variety of management and care issues facing the captive elephant population, as well the important link they have to wild populations of elephants. The program will include a tour of the newly constructed McNair Asian Elephant Habitat at the Houston Zoo and 3 full days of activities, prese...
2009-01-28 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo and Baylor College of Medicine are teaming up to find a vaccine for elephant herpes, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday. In November, a 2-year-old Asian elephant named Mac at the Houston Zoo died from the virus. His death prompted the two organizations to spend the next three years studying the virus in an effort to protect elephants in zoos and those in the wild. "Very little is known about it," Dr. Alan Herron said. "We don't know how it is spread from elephant to elephant." The p...
2008-12-05 - Houston, United States. MARY FLOOD
A Houston man was among six people arrested on federal charges of smuggling black market ivory disguised to look like wood sculptures or musical instruments into the United States. A Houston federal magistrate on Friday ordered Mamadi Doumbouya, 39, be kept in custody and moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., to stand trial. He and his alleged co-conspirators, arrested in other states, are accused of bringing the forbidden elephant tusks from the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Uganda into this country through JFK...
2008-11-15 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo family came together Saturday to remember the 2-year-old elephant known as Mac. Mac, the largest Asian elephant born in captivity at 384 pounds, died last Sunday after contracting elephant herpesvirus. Staff and supporters of the zoo gathered at the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat to remember the loss. In a press release, the zoo's spokesman thanked the public for their outreach during the difficult time.
2008-11-10 - Houston, United States.
Mac, an Asian elephant whose birth was a cause for celebration at the Houston Zoo scarcely more than two years ago, died Sunday night after a brief battle with the elephant herpes virus, zoo officials said this morning. "The entire zoo staff is absolutely devastated," said zoo spokesman Brian Hill. "It's difficult to put into words and describe the attachment that has developed over the past two years. "This is a terrible loss, especially for the elephant keepers and veterinary medical staff who...
2008-09-21 - Houston, United States.
In Houston, residents are having a hard time removing debris from their yards, after Hurricane Ike. So, some animals from the Houston Zoo are giving them a hand...a trunk, rather. The 2,600 pound elephant, named ‘Tucker,’ is moving tree limbs. The three-year-old elephant can lift four times its body weight. Zookeepers say it’s good exercise for Tucker.
2008-08-10 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an evolving and maturing elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program is well on its way to becoming a state of the art program and facility. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care, husbandry, and training of the zoos 2.2 resident Asian elephants. In the...
2008-08-01 - Houston, United States. Brad Woodard
On one occasion, our cameras spotted elephants being housed in a metal trailer on a sweltering summer afternoon. The trailer appeared to have an air conditioner, but it was unclear whether it was running. Then on a second visit, 11 News spotted the elephants outside and under an awning. The heat index was in the triple digits and the elephants appeared to be restrained by their legs. The circus manager said the elephant’s trainer is Will Davenport, but he was not available to talk to 11 News. ...
2008-02-08 - Houston, United States. The National Elephant Center news release
A new model for excellence in elephant care and conservation is a reality today as The National Elephant Center announced plans to create a national elephant conservation center in central Florida made possible, in part, by Waste Management’s involvement. The facility will be under construction for several months with the first elephants expected to arrive in 2009. “Elephants are among our most endangered animals in the world, and their future depends on innovative programs that integrate sc...
2008-01-21 - Houston, United States.
Can a special event for a baby elephant add ingenuity to your next marketing campaign? Here’s the scoop from DMNews’s January 14 edition. As the Houston Zoo prepared to celebrate the Mac the Elephant’s first birthday, they decided to get the public involved through a birthday card contest. The marketing campaign was launched on the zoo’s Web site, on their blog, and through an opt-in Email list. This contest’s components explain how to create a winning campaign, and each step is achiev...
2007-07-17 - Houston, United States.
If you’ve ever remodeled your home while you lived in it you’ll have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing with our elephant exhibit at the Houston Zoo. Construction is now underway on the most significant improvement to our elephant exhibit in the 85-year history of the Zoo, the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. The expansion will be built in two phases. Phase One, a $5 million project, has just begun and will include an improved viewing area, a new 9,000 square foot elephant barn and addit...
2007-03-01 - Houston, United States.
Visitors to the Houston Zoo were treated to an unusual sight Thursday morning. They saw a 6-month-old playing basketball! The youngster stands nearly four feet tall and weighs almost 700 pounds. The fun and games were all part of Mac the elephant’s half-year birthday celebration. Mac was the elephant that the public got to name.
2007-01-31 - Houston, United States. Houston Zoo Blog
That’s right; Mac’s new teeth continue to grow—along with his weight (he is now 644 pounds!) and his height - he now stands at 44 inches tall! Did you even know that elephants have teeth? Well, most elephants actually have six teeth—including their two tusks (which are actually teeth). They will go through six sets of the inside four teeth in their lifetime. (Mac will probably get his second set of teeth before he turns one.)
2007-01-28 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
Houston Zoo officials had their hopes dashed this week when an ultrasound determined the middle-aged elephant was not pregnant. For weeks now, some zoo officials suspected Methai was in a family way after she was bred with the zoo's lone adult male, Thai, last summer. "We wanted to find out: Is she is, or is she ain't? And we know she ain't," zoo spokesman Brian Hill said Friday.
2007-01-23 - Houston, United States.
Mac is certainly a happy, noisy little elephant. But the one thing you don’t hear much from Mac are his footfalls. Did you know that elephants are actually very, very quiet walkers? Because of the way their feet are shaped (with a spongy “shock absorber†sole), and the fact that elephants essentially walk on their tiptoes (Asian elephants have five “hidden†toes on their front feet, four on the back), these huge animals can actually move quite silently.
2007-01-16 - Houston, United States. EAZA
The Houston Zoo Inc. is seeking an enthusiastic professional to join our Elephant Team. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an evolving and maturing elephant program. With a new exhibit and barn construction right around the corner, a new born calf, and continued elephant breeding, the Houston zoo elephant program is well on its way to becoming a state of the art program and facility. This is a full time, year-round position and includes responsibility for the care, husbandry, and tr...
2006-11-16 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
As Houston Zoo officials unfurled a banner to display the newly selected name for its baby elephant, the precocious pachyderm was putting on a show of his own, bulling his way through the thick cables surrounding the elephant exhibit and rumbling after the adult females. Since his Oct. 1 birth, he has gained 91 pounds, tipping the scale at 474 pounds. Officials say Mac is the largest Asian elephant born at a U.S. zoo.
2006-10-24 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is counting on your vote to help name the newest member of its elephant family. Zookeepers have provided 5 potential names for the 384-pound pachyderm — just vote on this page. And, when you vote, make sure you fill out the form so you'll be eligible to win a great prize from the zoo: a Pachyderm Prize Pack which includes a one-year Houston Zoo Family Membership, a Keeper of the Animals Adopt Kit for Thai (the baby’s proud father) and a private behind-the-scenes tour of the z...
2006-10-07 - Houston, United States.
Martina Stevens, 27, is the Houston Zoo's elephant manager. A graduate of Western Michigan University, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry, she is an animal lover who owns three dogs and a bunch of frogs. She has worked at the zoo for four-and-a-half years, always with elephants. Since the arrival of the zoo's new elephant calf Oct. 1, Stevens has been one of the keepers watching over the delicate bonding process between Shanti, a 15-year-old Asian elephant, and the calf.
2006-10-07 - Houston, United States. Daryl Hoffman
The latest addition to the Houston Zoo collecion was born Oct. 1 at 4:40 AM, he's 40" tall, 40" long and a massive 384 pounds. Mother and calf are doing great. The Dam is Sahanti. This is her second birth at the Houston Zoo. She was born at the Lincoln Park Zoo in 1990. She then wove her way through the Buffalo Zoo and Murray Hill's farm before going to the Houston Zoo in 2001. The Sire is Thai. Most of you know him from being in Eloise Berthtold's act. After Morgan Berry passed away, Thai went ...
2006-10-01 - Houston, United States. CYNTHIA GARZA
The Houston Zoo's Asian elephant Shanti delivered a male calf early this morning after a 22-month pregnancy. The yet-unnamed baby weighed in at 384 pounds and is 40 inches long and 40 inches tall — making him the largest elephant calf ever delivered in a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Houstonians will help pick the new baby boy's name by voting for one among a list on the zoo's Web site.
2005-06-06 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
Two hours before opening, handlers at the Houston Zoo busily prepare Thai, Shanti and Methai — their Asian elephant herd — for another day on exhibit and another day in captivity. The pachyderms are on exhibit 365 days a year, in a 25,000-square-foot enclosure, with a wooden platform that allows visitors to watch them wander around.
2005-04-19 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT
Shanti, the Houston Zoo's reluctant mother, is pregnant again. The Asian elephant who gave birth to baby Bella last August is expected to have her second calf in late 2006. The pregnancy may have occurred outside the breeding protocol to which members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, or AZA, must adhere. The zoo first should have sought a recommendation for this second birth, according to the chairman of the advisory committee overseeing the group's elephant species survival plan.
2005-04-18 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is currently seeking an individual for a keeper position working with elephants. This individual will carry out all aspects of the daily care of assigned animals including cleaning, feeding, grooming, and observing animals. Responsibilities include, but not limited to, observing and evaluating animal conditions, providing daily husbandry, enrichment, training, exhibit maintenance, and record keeping.
2005-04-15 - HOUSTON, United States.
Officials with the Houston Zoo announced they were forced to put the zoo's baby Asian elephant, Bella, to sleep Friday morning, Local 2 reported. Bella was recovering from surgery to repair a fractured right femur. Zoo officials said the 552-pound elephant stumbled on the soft ground, fell and fractured her leg Tuesday. The elephant, whose mother rejected her after birth, underwent 2½ hours of surgery in which doctors used four pins and a rod to repair the broken leg.
2005-01-08 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo has made a national animal-protection organization's list of the country's 10 worst zoos for pachyderms because of the number of deaths from herpes virus. In Defense of Animals this week labeled Houston's elephant program a "breeding ground for misery," noting that five elephants born at the Houston Zoo over the last 15 years have either died there or at other facilities where they had been shipped.
2004-11-01 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
Kimba, the beloved 13-year-old Houston Zoo elephant who died Labor Day, succumbed, as suspected, of elephant herpes virus, laboratory tests confirmed. Despite valiant attempts to save her, the Asian elephant died 25 hours after exhibiting signs of a diminished appetite, swelling around the temple area and depression -- all symptoms of the disease which quickly attacks blood vessels after invading the body.
2004-09-07 - Houston, United States. Danny Perez, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo staff members tried feverishly to save Kimba's life, but the 13-year-old female Asian elephant died Monday afternoon after a sudden illness.
2004-08-18 - Houston, United States.
Asian Elephant Births 338-Pound Baby GirlAfter 22 months of pregnancy, Shanti, a 13-year-old Asian elephant at the Houston Zoo gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday evening, August 17, 2004, at the Houston Zoo to a healthy female calf with the name Bella!
2004-01-01 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is mourning the loss of it's newest addition. A new born Asian elephant died at the zoo Monday. The female calf died about 30 hours after her mother, Methai, gave birth. Zookeepers said the calf appeared to be very healthy right after labor but suspected something was wrong a few hours later. The zoo said the calf's mother is in good health and is now in an area visible to visitors.
2024-07-10 - Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin Zoo has confirmed that a third elephant has tested positive for a virus which has left two other elephants dead over the last ten days. Eight-year-old Avani and seven-year-old Zinda died from E...
Tess, a 40-year-old Asian elephant at Houston Zoo, has been given the first-ever dose of an mRNA vaccine created by virologists at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to prevent the deadly elephant endot...
2024-04-26 - Blackpool, United Kingdom.
The latest round of pregnancy tests at Blackpool Zoo has revealed that two of its elephants are expecting babies. Mother and daughter Noorjahan and Esha are both pregnant and due to give birth in late...
2024-04-02 - Sen Monorom, Cambodia.
There was sad news from Mondulkiri Province, with the death of 2 year old elephant “Chi Pich” being announced. Sources from the Elephant Livelihood Initiative Environment Organization (ELIE) said ...
2024-03-26 - Kochi, India.
Popular tusker Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan, 55, 55, died at Mangalamkunnu in Palakkad on Monday. The elephant owned by M A Haridasan had been under treatment for the past few months.
2024-03-23 - Kegalle, Sri Lanka.
The 76th elephant calf was born at the Rambukkana Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on March 20.This baby elephant was born to 32-year-old she-elephant Shanthi and 19-year-old Pandu at the Pinnawala Elepha...
2024-03-23 - Pretoria, South Africa.
In the ongoing efforts to curb poaching and snaring of animals within the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, South African National Parks (SANParks) is working to create more partnerships with neighbour...
2024-03-15 - , United States.
After weeks of voting and thousands of submissions, the Toledo Zoo has officially chosen the name of their precious baby elephant and we're personally thrilled about the news! Ladies and gentleman, Ki...
2024-03-09 - Tucson, United States.
A baby elephant was born at Reid Park Zoo. The zoo said Semba, the facility’s African elephant matriarch, gave birth to a 265-pound calf around 3:31 a.m. Friday, March 8. Reid Park Zoo said the calf...
2024-03-04 - Copenhagen, Denmark.
A female baby elephant in Copenhagen Zoo has been named Chin after the Tha Chin river in central Thailand. The elephant was born last week in the Danish zoo. The zookeepers, who take care of the young...
2024-02-29 - Alappuzha, India.
Evoor Kannan, the elephant known for his murderous rage and with a history of killing two mahouts is in a bad mood these days. He had been gentle under the care of his former Mahout Sharath Parippally...
2024-02-20 - Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands.
African elephant Punda has become the mother of a healthy elephant calf after a 22-month pregnancy. This is the third calf born in the Safari Park Beekse Bergen k in four months. Never before have thr...
2024-02-15 - Pittsburgh, United States.
The zoo said Tsuni died Thursday after a sudden, brief battle with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). Her EEHV was detected through routine blood testing on Feb. 8, even though she presente...
2024-02-15 - Seoul, South Korea.
The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday. The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered fr...
2024-01-30 - Bangalore, India.
The Bannerghatta Biological Park is brimming with excitement as it welcomes a delightful new addition—a baby boy elephant calf. This adorable arrival brings the elephant count in the Bannerghatta zo...
2024-01-27 - Guruvayur, India.
Elephant Kannan, of the Guruvayur Devaswom Elephant Camp, a nine-time winner of the festival-related elephant race, has passed away. His demise was around 5:30 pm on Saturday. The tusker's age at the ...
2024-01-27 - Koh Nhek, Cambodia.
Villagers found a baby elephant dead in Koh Nhek district, Mondulkiri province in the middle of the forest on January 26, 2024, suspected of being shot. Mondulkiri Provincial department of environm...
2024-01-13 - Beijing, China.
A recent study published in the journal eLife has uncovered new findings on the development of dextrous trunks by indigenous elephants. According to Dr. Shi-Qi Wang, a senior author of the research, t...
2024-01-13 - Pekanbaru, Indonesia.
The Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan District, Riau Province, again lost one of its Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) after a poacher allegedly killed it for its tusks. The 46-year...
2024-01-11 - New York, United States.
In a narrow but sprawling curatorial space at the uptown museum, The Secret World of Elephants, now opened, tells the story of elephant species and their relatives through life-size models, videos, gr...
