March 13, 2011

ELEPHANT CELEBRATIONS

The Asian Elephants at Melbourne Zoo are celebrating for two reasons today.

Today is the eighth anniversary of the opening of the Zoo's innovative Trail of the Elephants.

March 13 also the date of Thailand's annual national festival held in honour of the historic importance of elephants in Thai culture.

The three young female Asian Elephants from Thailand now at Melbourne Zoo are playing a central role in the new regional conservation breeding program for their endangered species.

Dokkoon, Kulab, and Num-Oi arrived in November 2006, along with five other young elephants now at Taronga Zoo.

Melbourne Zoo welcomed the births of the first two calves in its 148-year history during 2010: Dokkoon gave birth to Australia's first female calf Mali in January, and in September Kulab gave birth to the Zoo's first male calf Ongaht.

Abbots and monks from three Buddhist temples visited the Zoo today to bless the calves and the adult females in traditional Thai fashion by chanting and sprinkling the elephants with water which has been blessed.

The temples represented are:

Wat Dhammarangsee in Forest Hill
The Melbourne Thai Buddhist Temple in Box Hill
Buddha Bodhivana Monastery in Warburton East

Trail of the Elephants Supervisor Dave McKelson says that it's great to be able to celebrate the Zoo's own milestone along with the Thai National Elephant Day.

‘The opening of Trail of the Elephants was a major initiative for the Zoo, and without this award-winning facility we couldn't have undertaken the breeding program, which has been such a success.

‘Thailand has been celebrating the cultural significance of their elephants for centuries on this date, so it was very fortunate that Trail of the Elephants was opened on March 13th eight years ago.

‘The three Thai females have settled in so well, and with their two calves it is a fantastic herd environment for them all now here at Trail of the Elephants.'