A (big, big) baby's on the way
After 22 long months, Semba — the Reid Park Zoo’s largest female African elephant — is to deliver a calf sometime between June and August. The baby will be her third and will join 7-year-old brother Punga, 3-year-old brother Sundzu and 24-year-old father Mabu in the zoo’s new elephant enclosure. Elephants have the longest gestation period of any land mammal and their delivery is quite different than the human version — starting with the three-foot drop to the ground. Today we celebrate the differences with some facts about how elephants are born and how they live.
Infographic by Tammie Graves, Arizona Daily Star
SOURCES: Reid Park Zoo, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Elephant-world.com, LiveScience.com
Name: Litsemba (leet-sahm-ba), which means “hope” in SiSwati. Her nickname is Semba.
• Elephants are the largest of all land animals in the world.
• During courtship, a male and a female elephant will rub their bodies on each other and even wrap trunks. The females tend to run away from t…
It’s uncertain when the baby will go on exhibit to the public. The main concern is the calf’s health, progress and strength. The Arizona Daily…
Millions of years ago there were many species of elephants, but today there are only two — the African and the Asian species. African elephant…
When Semba is ready to deliver, a hump will appear under her tail as the calf’s legs, either front or back, move over her hip girdle.
The fluid-filled amniotic sac will emerge with the calf inside. As the baby comes out it will be forced forward under Semba’s belly.
To finish the delivery, Semba will squat and push her calf out. As it drops to the ground, the amniotic sac will break and large quantities of…
The newborn calf will struggle to stand immediately. Once it finds its balance it will be examined by the zoo’s medical and animal care team, …
“We are thrilled to have Semba expecting her third calf. She has lived at our zoo for over two years. Shortly after arriving she and Mabu, the…
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Semba and the female calf are doing well.
