The Saint Louis Zoo is getting a baby Asian elephant for the first time in seven years

Two of the Saint Louis Zoo’s Asian elephants are expecting a new calf in summer 2020. The zoo announced on Thursday that Rani, 23, is pregnant and due to give birth this summer. The sex of the calf is unknown right now.

The new calf’s father, Raja, 26, was the first Asian elephant born at the zoo, on December 27, 1992. This will be his fifth offspring. Rani and Raja already share a daughter, Jade, who was born here on February 25, 2007. The zoo’s River’s Edge and Elephant Woods habitats house a nine-member, three-generation elephant family that includes Raja and Rani; Rani’s mother, Ellie; and Raja’s mother, Pearl. Rani came to St. Louis with Ellie in 2001 from the Jacksonville Zoo.

“We’re looking forward to the new calf joining our multi-generational elephant family, and we’re optimistic that everything will go well for Rani,” said Katie Pilgram-Kloppe, acting curator of River’s Edge at the Saint Louis Zoo and assistant director of the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute Center for Asian Elephant Conservation, in a statement. “Breeding and calf rearing is one part of our robust, multi-faceted animal welfare program, and important to the elephants’ social structure. Our experienced, professional elephant care team is providing exceptional care for Rani during her pregnancy, including customized exercise and birth plans.”

In the wild, Asian elephants live in India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, and their status as a species is endangered. Rani and Raja’s breeding is part of a Species Survival Plan—a national cooperative breeding program—that ensures populations are maintained in North American zoos. One facility at River’s Edge is designed to allow the zoo to breed the animals. 

An elephant’s gestation period is 22 months, and newborns typically weigh about 250 to 350 pounds. By the time Rani gives birth, the new baby Asian elephant will be the first born at the zoo in seven years. According to the zoo’s website, Priya was the last elephant born there, on April 26, 2013.