Oregon Public Broadcasting

The elephants at the Oregon Zoo in Portland are making progress with their new arrival. Rose-Tu and her calf met other members of the herd Wednesday and it went well.

Two other female elephants named Shine and Chendra sniffed at the little one and knelt down to get close to him. The zoo says that is a good sign for the future integration of the baby into the herd.

Jeremy Kirby is one of the elephant keepers who look after Rose-Tu and her calf. Kirby says the little elephant took a bath Thursday and is making good progress.

Jeremy Kirby: “He is showing a lot of interest in his environment, he is kind of ducking in and out of those, ahem, zooming in and out of the enclosure, he is picking up objects, he is definitely exploring his world a lot more.”

Kirby says the relationship between the mother and the baby is also developing well. He says Rose-Tu is very careful around the calf and makes sure not to hurt him. 

Right after the calf was born, his mother was confused and violent toward him.