Popular vote names elephant calf - Now it's time to meet her
From today, visitors to Melbourne Zoo can now see all three recently born Asian elephant calves, including the one-week-old female who was named by popular vote over the weekend.
Thousands of people cast their vote online via Zoos Victoria’s social media pages, with Kati the most popular.
Kati pronounced car-tee means Coconut Milk, an ingredient commonly used in Thai cooking. The name was among a selection provided for voting by the Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra.
Melbourne Zoo Trail of the Elephants Keeper Jess MacDonald said it was exciting that visitors could now view the multi-generational herd, including the three calves born since November last year.
“This has been years in the planning and it’s so special to see this thriving herd here at Melbourne Zoo,” Ms MacDonald said.
“The special thing about this multi-generational herd is that they all interact so differently. It’s so interesting to see how the calves are interacting with one another and interacting with other members of the herd, such as our matriarch Mek Kaph who is 50 years old."
“It’s incredible to be able to see all of these beautiful social behaviours.”
Ms MacDonald said the three calves are already showing their very different personalities. Firstborn female calf, Aiyara, born November 16, is confident and independent. Little brother Roi-Yim, born November 26, is much quieter, still sticking close to mum, while the newest addition born 11.25pm on January 1, is busy learning about her home and herd.
All three calves were conceived naturally to sire Luk Chai, who arrived from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in December 2020, and all of the calves are being raised by the entire herd, naturally creating herd cohesion and providing social development.
Zoos Victoria is part of a regional breeding program for Asian Elephants, which are classified as Endangered in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. Zoos Victoria also maintains an international partnership with Fauna & Flora International, which is undertaking fieldwork in Vietnam to establish wild elephant numbers and better understand the threats Asian Elephants face in the region.
As previously announced, the entire Asian Elephant herd – including the calves - will move from Melbourne Zoo to Werribee Open Range Zoo in 2024, following completion of an $88million expansion funded by the Victorian Government.
Zoos Victoria visitors are reminded that all tickets to enter the zoo must be pre-booked. Zoos Victoria Members no longer need to book but are required to scan their membership card to gain entry.