{"id":272970,"date":"2026-02-04T04:47:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/272970\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T04:47:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T04:47:08","slug":"baby-elephant-born-at-national-zoo-1st-in-25-years-nbc4-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/272970\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby elephant born at National Zoo, 1st in 25 years \u2013 NBC4 Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"

An eagerly awaited Asian elephant calf has made her grand arrival at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.<\/p>\n

The baby was born Feb. 2 at 1:15 a.m. after a 21-month gestation to parents Nhi Linh and Spike, the zoo announced. <\/p>\n

The calf appears healthy, alert and bright-eyed, tipping the scales at\u00a0308\u00a0pounds and measuring\u00a038.5 inches\u00a0tall, zoo vets said. They also listened to\u00a0her\u00a0heart and lungs, examined\u00a0her\u00a0eyes and ears, tested the range of motion in her\u202flimbs\u202fand took a blood sample.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRoshan Patel\/SmithsonianRoshan Patel\/Smithsonian<\/p>\n

Smithsonian animal care and veterinary staff with the Asian elephant calf that was born to female Asian elephant Nhi Linh on Feb. 2, 2026 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The Zoo’s Asian elephant Spike is the father of this calf. (Photo: Roshan Patel\/Smithsonian)<\/p>\n

Although Asian elephants have long resided at the National Zoo, this elephant calf is the first to be born there in\u202fnearly a quarter-century.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter waiting nearly 25 years for an Asian elephant calf, this birth fills us with profound joy,\u201d said zoo director Brandie Smith.<\/p>\n

\"Smithsonian<\/p>\n

In this photo: Staff are looking at the ultrasound of elephant mom-to-be Nhi Linh.<\/p>\n

Elephant calf born after 21-month pregnancy<\/p>\n

Asian elephants are an endangered species.\u202f<\/p>\n

Nhi Linh (pronounced “nee lin”) and Spike bred in April 2024 following a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums\u2019 Species Survival Plan, zoo officials said. Asian elephant pregnancies typically last 18 to\u202f22 months.<\/p>\n

The zoo announced Nhi Linh’s pregnancy back in November.<\/a><\/p>\n

This calf is the first offspring for the 12-year-old mother, the zoo said. Although 44-year-old Spike has fathered three calves at other zoos, none survived.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Because Nhi Linh and Spike\u2019s genes are not well represented in zoos, their calf will help strengthen the genetic diversity of the Asian elephant population in North America and around the world,” zoo officials said in a news release.<\/p>\n

When will the baby elephant go on display at the National Zoo?<\/p>\n

Not quite yet.<\/p>\n

She’ll need up to a month off-exhibit bonding with her mother, their herd members and zoo keepers behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

“Asian elephants are an intelligent,\u00a0sensitive\u00a0and social species, so building these bonds is critical to the calf\u2019s development,” the zoo said.<\/p>\n

Dates for her public debut will be announced in the future. Once she does go on display, she’ll also be viewable on the zoo’s Elephant Cam.<\/p>\n

“When you see the calf and those heartwarming interactions with the herd, I hope you\u2019ll be inspired to help save this endangered species. What we learn from our elephants in D.C. directly strengthens our work to protect wild Asian elephants across Southeast Asia,” Smith said. “I\u2019m incredibly proud of our team, whose expertise made this moment possible for Nhi Linh and for all of us.”<\/p>\n

\"Smithsonian<\/p>\n

Smithsonian animal care and veterinary staff with the Asian elephant calf that was born to female Asian elephant Nhi Linh on Feb. 2, 2026 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The Zoo’s Asian elephant Spike is the father of this calf. (Photo: Roshan Patel\/Smithsonian)<\/p>\n

Zoo\u00a0visitors will still be able to see the other herd members\u00a0and meet a keeper daily at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

However, the Elephant Community Center will be closed intermittently to provide quiet for the new mother and her calf.\u00a0Staff members hope to give\u00a0them\u00a0access to\u00a0the other\u00a0indoor and outdoor habitats as soon as possible, but outdoor access will be dependent on the weather, the zoo said.<\/p>\n

Baby elephant’s name to be selected by public vote<\/p>\n

Members of the public will be able to vote on the new baby’s name while raising donations for elephant care and conservation.<\/p>\n

Elephant fans will be able to vote for their favorite name by making a donation of $5 or more on the zoo\u2019s website<\/a>, with $1 representing one vote. The zoo said all funds raised will go to Asian elephant care and conservation.<\/p>\n

The polls are open through Friday, Feb. 13 at noon. The zoo will announce the winner on its website.<\/p>\n

People can choose from four options nominated by the zoo’s elephant care team:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Linh Mai [LIN-my]: “spirit blossom.” Linh means spirit or soul, and Mai refers to the apricot blossom, a flower associated with T\u1ebft (Lunar New Year), which begins Feb. 17.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Th\u1ea3o Nhi [TOW-nee]: “gentle and beloved.” Th\u1ea3o means gentle or kind and is associated with nature, and Nhi means small, little one or beloved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

T\u00fa Anh [TOO-ahng]: T\u00fa means talented or gifted; Anh means bright and intelligent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tuy\u1ebft [TWET]: Traditionally means \u201csnow,\u201d referencing the calf’s winter birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The choices were inspired by Nhi Linh\u2019s name, which is of Vietnamese origin, the zoo said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An eagerly awaited Asian elephant calf has made her grand arrival at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The baby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2594,85,46,25539,141,10849,386],"class_list":{"0":"post-272970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-national-zoo","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-washington-dc","14":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}