When Corra made her Safari debut , she stood slightly more than 3 feet tall and weighed in at 312 pounds .
When Corra made her Safari debut , she stood slightly more than 3 feet tall and weighed in at 312 pounds .
Corra nurses from first-time mom , Nadirah . PHOTO BY ANDY JERZEWSKI
HOW SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HELP KEEP THINGS “ NATURAL ” Disney ’ s Animal Kingdom is one of the only AZA-accredited facilities with an on-site endocrinology lab . State-of-theart tools enable endocrinologists to confirm and monitor pregnancies , predict birthing timelines , and ensure that all the key players — from the human care team to the animal support network — are ready when the big day arrives .
In December 2023 , Animal Kingdom welcomed the first-ever second-generation African elephant born at the park . Corra was born to first-time mom , Nadirah , who herself was born at the park in 2005 .
By monitoring Nadirah ’ s hormone levels and cycles throughout puberty , endocrinologists could determine her psychological maturity . This scientific data , paired with behavioral observations by the Animal Care team , helped assess Nadirah ’ s readiness to mate with one of the park ’ s male elephants , Mac , whose testosterone levels and behavior the team also monitored .
Animal training to incorporate procedures like blood draws — which are voluntary for the animal — into an animal ’ s regular routine helps support an animal ’ s safe cooperation in their own care . Once an animal conceives , hormonal monitoring takes on new and continued importance — particularly in the case of an animal like the African elephant , for which a typical pregnancy is a staggering 22 months .
“ We were looking at her reproductive hormone levels from the time that she conceived all the way to the time that she gave birth , so that was 639 days of a gestation period ,” said Samantha Shablin , Endocrinology Research Associate on Disney ’ s Animals ,
Corra has joined the tight-knit matriarchal society of elephants at Animal Kingdom . PHOTO BY ANDY JERZEWSKI
Science , and Environment team . “ During the pregnancy , we monitor reproductive hormones to make sure that she is safe , the baby is safe , and that she is hitting all of the milestones that she should be .”
With such a lengthy pregnancy comes a much wider range of variability in potential delivery dates — up to 85 days . But , through hormone level monitoring , endocrinologists can tighten this possible window to within 48 hours . And predicting that 48-hour birth window means the care team doesn ’ t have to spend 85 days primed for imminent delivery — and can be alert and ready when the critical time comes .
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