A new baby elephant was born in Japan’s oldest zoo, and staff members are now asking for help in naming him.
The public had their first glimpse of the male calf on Tuesday at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Taito Ward, according to Reuters. He was born on Oct. 31.
The baby male elephant, which measures 100 centimeters (39 inches) tall and 120 kilograms (265 pounds) at birth, is the son of mother Authi and father Artid.
The elephant parents were given by Thailand to Japan as a gift to celebrate the birth of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s only daughter, Princess Aiko, in 2002.
Subscribe to NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
However, the calf’s father passed away from tuberculosis in August.
Princess Aiko, who just turned 19 when the baby elephant was unveiled to the public, was happy with the calf’s birth. She is looking forward to seeing him, according to the Imperial Household Agency via Nippon TV News 24 Japan.
The calf is the first elephant born at the zoo since it first opened its doors in 1882.
Ueno Zoological Gardens is limiting the public’s interactions with the calf for about a week and prohibiting photo-taking to avoid overstimulating him, Kyodo News reported.
There are three choices for the calf’s name, which were suggested by the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo: Arun (“dawn” in Thai), Atsadong (sunset), or Tawan (sun).
People can reportedly cast their votes either online or at the zoo. Voting will run through noon of Dec. 13, with the winning name announced on Dec. 15.
Many people might not know this, but NextShark is a small media startup that runs on no outside funding or loans, and with no paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on help from our community and readers like you.
Everything you see today is built by Asians, for Asians to help amplify our voices globally and support each other. However, we still face many difficulties in our industry because of our commitment to accessible and informational Asian news coverage.
We hope you consider making a contribution to NextShark so we can continue to provide you quality journalism that informs, educates, and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for supporting NextShark and our community.