The Nursery
The Ringling Bros. Center has been blessed with more elephant calves than you can shake a trunk at – a total of 23 giant bundles of joy since Ringling Bros. initiated its conservation efforts in the early ‘90s. That’s no small feat, especially when one considers that female elephants have their reproductive cycles only four times a year and gestation lasts up to 22 months. In fact, many Asian elephant experts estimate that only two to four calves are born in the United States each year.Our special facility is designed to keep elephants healthy,comfortable and safe. And when Asian elephants are content, they naturally make little Asian elephants, creating a conservation legacy for generations to come.
Our 25th calf, Nate, is our biggest bundle of elephant joy yet, weighing in at 352 pounds at birth!Nate is the calf of Sally and Romeo. He is Sally’s sixth calf, and first male calf. Nate has three older half-sisters through his mom, Sally, currently touring with Ringling Bros., and will grow up with his half-sister on his dad’s side, Piper, who was born in August.
Our 24th calf, named Piper, was born at 8:05 p.m. on August 13, weighing 316 pounds.
Piper is the calf of Shirley and Romeo, both of whom were born through the Ringling Bros. breeding program. Her sister, Mable, is currently touring with The Greatest Show On Earth. This second generation born into the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation breeding program shows that members of the herd are successfully reproducing on their own.
April, a female calf born on April 3, 2010, at 9:30 p.m. is an offspring of 34-year old Alana and 37-year old Charlie. April has three siblings, 4-year old Irvin who is currently touring with The Greatest Show On Earth ®, 6-year old Asha and 12-year old Doc, all born at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation.
Barack, a male calf born on the inaugural eve of the 44th President of the United States at 11:50 p.m. is our first Asian elephant born as a result of artificial insemination. This calf is a first for fourteen-year-old Bonnie, who also was born at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, and until recently was performing with The Greatest Show On Earth®.
Sundara, a female calf, born on November 9, 2008, at 7:15 p.m., is an offspring of 39-year-old Sally and 35-year-old Charlie. The young elephant has four other siblings, two of which were also born into the Ringling Bros.® conservation program. Kelly Ann, now 12 years old, and Rudy, who is 6 years old, both touring with The Greatest Show On Earth.
The calf's name Sundara means "beautiful" in Hindi.
Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation is home to the most successful Asian elephant breeding program in the Western Hemisphere. The following links will tell you more about our Asian elephant family.
Elephants Born In Ringling Bros. Breeding Program
Elephants are very social. They say hello by touching each other's mouths with the tips of their trunks and greet their trainers with trunk hugs and vocalizations. Some vocalizations can be heard by the human ear, and some require electronic identification. Very low frequencies are used to communicate over long distances.