Cherry blossom baby
Sri Lankan elephant couple Anula and Kosala have been the key attraction of Japan’s Higashiyama Zoo at Nagoya since 2007. And now there’s an added attraction for Anula gave birth last January to a female calf.
The first Asian elephant born at the Higashiyama Zoo and the sixth Asian elephant to be born in Japan, the baby was allowed to go outside just before the Sakura (cherry blossom) season after winter was over. The zoo asked visitors to suggest names for the baby. Thrilled to see the first baby elephant born in their zoo, people came up with many names and ultimately the baby was named ‘Sakura’.
Sakura was born on January 29. Mother Anula had veterinarians and elephant keepers on 24-hour alert as this was their first experience with an elephant birth at Higashiyama Zoo. But everything went according to plan and Anula gave birth to a healthy baby jumbo.
Mother and baby meet the public
The vets at Nagoya Zoo confirm that Anula looks after her baby well and that she is thriving on her mother’s milk. As it is still very cold outside, the baby jumbo is kept inside the spacious elephant sheds of Nagoya Zoo. The sheds are heated during winter and the newborns are usually wrapped in warm clothes, but the new baby jumbo is satisfied with the bed of hay on the floor of her shed.
Born in 2001 and 2004 respectively in Pinnawela, Anula and Kosala were still young when they were sent to Japan in 2007 accompanied by their Sri Lankan mahouts who were to look after them initially. It didn’t take long for both to adapt to Japanese conditions.
The successful breeding of Anula and Kosala, helps to further strengthen relation between Sri Lanka and Japan, said Director of Higashiyama Zoo Hisashi Hashikawa. Anura Silva, Director of Colombo Zoological Gardens also praised the Nagoya Zoo for looking after the elephants well, congratulating them on the successful birth.
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