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Headline: RAW VIDEO: Baby Elephant Tula-Tu Makes Public Debut At Oregon Zoo
Caption: A young Asian elephant calf, born at the Oregon Zoo on 1 February 2025, has been named Tula-Tu by keepers and made her public debut. Now weighing around 260 pounds, Tula is already getting bigger - though not quite to the size of her mother Rose-Tu yet. “Tula’s nursing well and growing fast,” said Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s elephant area. “The calf is a quick learner with an outgoing personality, and she has great trunk control for such a young age. This baby’s really keeping mom on her toes.” Since her birth earlier this month, Tula-Tu has earned national attention in the US, including two appearances on NBC’s Today show, which named her frontrunner for “cutest animal of 2025.” Experts say interest in the baby elephant could spell good news for her wild counterparts. “The more exposure people have,” said University of Michigan professor Stephanie Preston, quoted in a recent Forbes article on Rose-Tu’s calf, “the more likely they are to consider it important to conserve the spaces where the species live.” Highly endangered in their range countries, Asian elephants are threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans and disease. It’s estimated that just 40,000 to 50,000 of them remain in fragmented populations from India to Borneo, and their home range overlaps with some of the most populous human areas on the planet — 20% of people worldwide live in or next to Asian elephant habitat. “Tula isn’t the only tiny elephant we’re caring for,” Lefave noted. “In Borneo, which is home to the world’s smallest and rarest elephants, our partnership with the Wildlife Rescue Unit means more wildlife rangers are working to protect rescued calves and reunite them with their families.” The Oregon Zoo is recognised worldwide for its elephant care program, which has spanned more than 60 years. The zoo supports a broad range of efforts to help wild elephants and has established a $1 million endowment fund supporting Asian elephants, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ SAFE program to advance conservation across all 13 Asian elephant range countries. Beyond direct elephant care, the zoo collaborates with local partners in Borneo to create lasting conservation solutions, from replanting forests and establishing protected corridors to fostering peaceful coexistence between elephants and communities.
Keywords: feature,oregon,video,elephant,photo,tula-tu
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