North American Asian Elephant Population 2025

While my fingers are crossed for a pleasant surprise, my primary hope is that Trong Nhi delivers the fetus one way or another.
Her retaining it would be a massive let down for National's program given that, in other cows anyway, it usually leaves the cow nonreproductive. While Nhi Linh is young enough that she should have no problem building up a matriline in her own right, having calves in pairs would be unquestionably ideal for the group, especially in the case of bull calves.
 
The Columbus zoo is having one final vote for Phoebe's son, the final four names are have been selected out 11,000 votes Fredick, Oliver, Ozzy, and Theodore. Thankfully not a Jack in sight :p
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Instagram: "IT’S TIME TO VOTE! We received over 11,000 elephant name suggestions for this little guy, and the elephant care team has narrowed it down to four names that best suit him! But first, we want to thank everyone who submitted a name suggestion last week — there were so many thoughtful and creative ideas! Our elephant care team carefully reviewed every submission and selected the four names they felt best reflect this young calf’s emerging personality, will support him well in future training, and offer something truly unique just for him. Let’s get to the top four favorite names by the Zoo’s elephant care team! Fredrick Oliver (Ollie) Ozzy Theodore (Theo) Head to the link in our bio to vote for YOUR favorite! You have until December 1, 2025, at 12 p.m. EST. We’ll then tally the votes and announce the calf’s new name on December 2. Thank you for being a part of Zoo history, and happy voting!"
 
Mr.Ivory said:
The Columbus zoo is having one final vote for Phoebe's son, the final four names are have been selected out 11,000 votes Fredick, Oliver, Ozzy, and Theodore. Thankfully not a Jack in sight :p
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Instagram: "IT’S TIME TO VOTE! We received over 11,000 elephant name suggestions for this little guy, and the elephant care team has narrowed it down to four names that best suit him! But first, we want to thank everyone who submitted a name suggestion last week — there were so many thoughtful and creative ideas! Our elephant care team carefully reviewed every submission and selected the four names they felt best reflect this young calf’s emerging personality, will support him well in future training, and offer something truly unique just for him. Let’s get to the top four favorite names by the Zoo’s elephant care team! Fredrick Oliver (Ollie) Ozzy Theodore (Theo) Head to the link in our bio to vote for YOUR favorite! You have until December 1, 2025, at 12 p.m. EST. We’ll then tally the votes and announce the calf’s new name on December 2. Thank you for being a part of Zoo history, and happy voting!"
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All rather interesting name choices, personally I love the choices of Ozzy and Theodore. Thought I'd include the voting link here. Everyone in the comments of Facebook is begging for the calf to be given the "middle name" of Jack, much like Rita Jean.
Columbus Zoo | Vote
 
I think some of you are being a bit harsh :p. Yeah these names are a touch basic but they are legues above "Frankie" and "Rita Jean" when you picture them on an adult bull.
From the beginning it was unrealistic to expect Columbus to stray from their usual naming conventions, especially given that they have another calf with a very, very human name currently. An asian name for instance would've stuck out among the other elephants in the group as well.
Personally I love Theo and Ozzy. Oliver and Frederick I am less fond of but they're not terrible.

(I'm very thankful they didn't pick Jack as well. It has a nice dual meaning, but it's so basic and said meaning would feel almost wasted on an animal that is essentially destined to leave the zoo at some point potentially within the next decade.)
 
I must say I have never understood the hatred so many zoochatters have for human names on elephants. Names that honor heritage are nice and in many cases more "unique", but what is it about more basic, "people sounding" names that makes them bad or unfitting? Elephants in the US have been named this way for decades across numerous facilities and while there are definitely some...interesting choices among them I just don't see the problem. We are all entitled to our own opinions of course, this is just one I can't wrap my head around ;)
 
I want to add just a little bit of perspective on naming conventions as someone that works in animal care. I wholly understand the desire for animals to have names that honor the regions and cultures from where they are from — especially from an audience, such as zoo enthusiasts, that are likely going to be a little more educated on said regions and cultures. That said, in my experience, so often these regional or cultural names are nothing more than facilities showing face. So often it is just someone Googling “X” word in “X” language, and boom — you’ve got a name with very little thought or consideration actually going into said name. And do you know how that reads to me? That reads to me as bordering on cultural appropriation. These languages and cultures are being used as a “costume” for these animals, when very little is actually being done to learn about and understand the cultures and languages being used. I mean, for an extreme example —that is how you end up with the most recent giraffe calf being born at the San Diego Zoo being named a Xenophobic slur… And for less extreme examples, that’s how you end up with so many south or west African endemic animals with Swahili names… I, personally, will take a “themed” name (plants, the letter “A”, old people names, etc.) for an animal over a “cultural” name for an animal almost any day because it does not sit right with me to name an animal something just because the name means something in a region and no further education is going to be done beyond that. This is coming from someone who has worked with a lot of animals without names at all — only physical identifiers (which is more ideal when you’re working with large numbers of animals or animals you do not have a lot of direct interaction with). Naming animals offers a way for guests and staff alike to make lasting connections with animals and that is something that can really inspire people to have an interest in animals and commit to conservation that is very important, but I do think that it needs to be done in a more well thought out manner. As such, this is not to say that cultural or regional names cannot be done right, but just that they seldom are and it something that zoos should be better about. With that, I see no wrong in Columbus naming their elephants “people” names, however uninspiring they may be :p
 
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Mr.Ivory said:
The Columbus zoo is having one final vote for Phoebe's son, the final four names are have been selected out 11,000 votes Fredick, Oliver, Ozzy, and Theodore. Thankfully not a Jack in sight :p
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Instagram: "IT’S TIME TO VOTE! We received over 11,000 elephant name suggestions for this little guy, and the elephant care team has narrowed it down to four names that best suit him! But first, we want to thank everyone who submitted a name suggestion last week — there were so many thoughtful and creative ideas! Our elephant care team carefully reviewed every submission and selected the four names they felt best reflect this young calf’s emerging personality, will support him well in future training, and offer something truly unique just for him. Let’s get to the top four favorite names by the Zoo’s elephant care team! Fredrick Oliver (Ollie) Ozzy Theodore (Theo) Head to the link in our bio to vote for YOUR favorite! You have until December 1, 2025, at 12 p.m. EST. We’ll then tally the votes and announce the calf’s new name on December 2. Thank you for being a part of Zoo history, and happy voting!"
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It's honestly surprising that they've seemingly gone for random names...at least if they were to select common names, ones with meaning would more appreciated (ie. a name starting with P or F for Phoebe, a name referencing Halloween ect).

I like 'Fredrick' honestly; especially as it's phonetically linked to his mother and brother's names, and can be shortened to Freddie or Ricky. However, my votes going towards 'Oliver', simply just as it's the name I prefer the most out of the whole lineup.

Tbh it's hard to guess a winner from this one; I'm just hoping it's not Ozzy, although I do like the attempt to pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
 
Jambo said:
It's honestly surprising that they've seemingly gone for random names...at least if they were to select common names, ones with meaning would more appreciated (ie. a name starting with P or F for Phoebe, a name referencing Halloween ect).

I like 'Fredrick' honestly; especially as it's phonetically linked to his mother and brother's names, and can be shortened to Freddie or Ricky. However, my votes going towards 'Oliver', simply just as it's the name I prefer the most out of the whole lineup.

Tbh it's hard to guess a winner from this one; I'm just hoping it's not Ozzy, although I do like the attempt to pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
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I'm a bit surprised too that the meanings weren't provided, usually they're there to help people choose. However given this selection I'm inclined to say that a few of the names may have been chosen based just on how it fit the calf's personality.

Fredrick could easily connect to his mother's name, Phoebe and also by extension his brother Frankie. I read in a social media comment that there was a longtime elephant keeper named Fredrick as well. Ozzy is almost certianly a nod to Ozzy Osborne, which fits nicely with his birth being close to Halloween. Oliver and Theo are harder to come up with clear reasoning for.
The comments across all social media are extremely mixed on the names, it could easily be any of the options imo (though I personally am really hoping it's not Fredrick, I've never been overly fond of that name)
 
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Frankie_number_1_fan said:
Columbus' second calf of the year has been named Oliver "Ollie"!
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
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Considering we all had to explain the reason behind why we were nominating names during the submission process, it’d be interesting to know the reason behind the finalists, especially the winner.

Perhaps it was inspired by Oliver (Ollie) Bearman, considering MoneyGram Haas F1 Team is an American licensed F1 team.

Or perhaps somebody simply submitted their name/their kid’s name. Either way, it’s generating engagement in the comments on socials with numerous people commenting how their kid shares a name with the calf (Oliver being in the top 10 boys names several years in a row in both the US and many other countries).
 
Zoofan15 said:
Considering we all had to explain the reason behind why we were nominating names during the submission process, it’d be interesting to know the reason behind the finalists, especially the winner.

Perhaps it was inspired by Oliver (Ollie) Bearman, considering MoneyGram Haas F1 Team is an American licensed F1 team.

Or perhaps somebody simply submitted their name/their kid’s name. Either way, it’s generating engagement in the comments on socials with numerous people commenting how their kid shares a name with the calf (Oliver being in the top 10 boys names several years in a row in both the US and many other countries).
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If I'm being totally honest, I don't think the keepers had meaning in mind when choosing the names. They all read to me like names that they felt fit his personality without too much sentimentality behind them. I'm sure things like "Fredrick" sharing an initial with Frankie was thought of and "Ozzy" as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, but I would be shocked if they were deciding factors for them. I do wonder which was the keepers' favorite of the four though!
 
 
Frankie_number_1_fan said:
It looks like Fort Worth is now grouping Bluebonnet and Birdie with Rasha and Belle at least partially (I believe Angel's pigmentation loss looks different)! Great news for them finally developing their multigenerational herd

1.3K views · 546 reactions | Fort Worth Zoo goers are not the only ones ecstatic over the zoo’s newest baby elephant, Lady Bird. Born in August, the 400-pound baby girl’s arrival marks a significant milestone for Fort Worth as she’s the sixth Asian elephant born in the zoo’s history. Click the link in our bio to read more. ️ Nicole Lopez Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America | Fort Worth Report
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Excellent news that Fort Worth is integrating Bluebonnet and Birdie with Rasha and Belle, and it would appear that Belle is expecting as well
 
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