Syracuse, N.Y. — Mali, the 25-year-old Asian elephant at Syracuse’s Rosamond Gifford Zoo, is expecting a calf this fall.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon and zoo officials made this announcement at 1 p.m. today, just as Mali was about to have her lunch.
“This is very exciting. It’s something the whole community can celebrate together,” McMahon said inside the 12,000-square-foot elephant preserve.
This will be Mali’s fourth calf and the third for bull elephant Doc. She delivered her first calf, Chuck, in 2008 while on loan to a lion safari in Ontario, Canada. Mali and Doc had Batu in 2015 and Ajay in 2019. Batu and Ajay died in 2020 of elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), the biggest killer of young Asian elephants.
Ashley Sheppard, the zoo’s elephant manager, said Mali will give birth between September and November. The gestation period for elephants is 20 to 24 months.
“She clearly has a baby bump,” Sheppard said, pointing to Mali’s tummy.
Mali weighs about 7,000 pounds and will likely gain between 700 and 800 pounds during her pregnancy. The calf, however, will likely weigh between 170 and 300 pounds, and the birth could be as fast as five minutes.
For lunch Wednesday, Mali ate a whole pineapple in one bite after pulling it from McMahon’s right hand. She then dined on several vines of grapes. Sheppard said the six elephants at the zoo are on a strict diet that includes hay and grains twice daily.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon gives Mali, the pregnant Asian elephant, a pineapple for lunch at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
Experts from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine have been monitoring Mali throughout the pregnancy. The staff will be going through birthing drills to prepare for the delivery.
Like other animals at the zoo, the calf will be named by the public through a county-wide contest.
Charlie Miller is a journalist for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. You can contact him at 315-382-1984.