Trunkline Magazine (Louisville Zoo) June 2018 - Page 10

An
ENORMOUS
Announcement
Written by Heather Dishon, Communications Coordinator
Photos by Kyle Shepherd, Media Relations Manager
In the last issue of Trunkline,
you learned about the dedicated
staff and extra-special care pro-
vided to two of the Zoo’s most
popular elephant ambassadors:
African elephant Mikki and Asian
elephant Punch. We also discussed
the planning in place to prepare
for the addition of a future el-
ephant calf. If you missed read-
ing it, you can find the article at
LouisvilleZoo.org/elephants.
The Louisville Zoo is thrilled to
announce that 32-year-old African
elephant Mikki is pregnant. An
ultrasound exam performed by the
Zoo’s veterinary staff in early March
confirmed the pregnancy and
recent hormone testing verified that
the pregnancy is still viable at the
important 26-week mark.
The birth of an elephant in hu-
man care is still a relatively rare
event. Every expectant mother—
whether elephant or human—needs
excellent health care before giving
birth to safeguard the health of
mother and infant.
“We are very excited about
Mikki’s pregnancy,” said Louisville
Zoo Director John Walczak. “Along
with the expert, first-class attention
and health care Mikki already re-
ceives, our animal care staff will also
provide specialized prenatal care.”
This care includes Mikki’s weight
being carefully monitored by
elephant staff. It’s important that
Mikki does not gain a great deal
of weight during pregnancy or the
calf may be too big at birth. A baby
elephant can weigh 250 – 300
pounds! Right now, the fetus is
about the size of a watermelon — a
small trunk, legs and tail, and tiny
ears are discernible at this stage of
development.
Keepers already work with both
the elephants daily, training them
through operant conditioning
utilizing positive reinforcement to
voluntarily participate in their health
care routine. This includes preparing
for veterinary procedures like hav-
ing blood taken to check hormone
levels, undergoing an ultrasound or
stepping on a scale to be weighed
– this training will be important
10 • Louisville Zoo Trunkline • Summer 2018
throughout Mikki’s pregnancy.
As you visit, you may see the
keepers walking along the outside
of the elephant exhibit barrier,
motioning and talking to Mikki to
encourage her to walk through the
WEIGHING MIKKI
Above: Mikki is weighed
by scale — 8,875 pounds!