Portland’s brand new baby elephant finally has her name
Published 9:58 am Thursday, February 13, 2025
- Tula-Tu, the new baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo, is a star attraction.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Portland’s sweetheart has a name.
Rose-Tu, one of the Asian elephants that live at the Oregon Zoo, gave birth to a calf on Saturday, Feb. 1 after 20 months of pregnancy.
So far, that calf has learned to walk (immediately), started to develop trunk control, met her auntie Shine and even appeared on the “Today” show.
And now, finally, she has a name: Tula-Tu.
“We’ve been giving Rose and her baby plenty of room to bond so it took a while before we were 100% sure she’d had a girl,” said Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s elephant area, in a press release Thursday. “Once we’d confirmed it, keepers came up with a name that suits her well and is also fun to say.”
According to Lefave, “tula” means “balance” in Sanskrit.
The “-Tu” suffix is “in honor of the young elephant’s matrilineal ancestors: her mom, Rose-Tu and grandmother, Me-Tu,” the zoo said.
“Asian elephants live in matrilineal family groups, and each new member is so important — not just to the mom but to everyone in the herd,” Lefave said.
According to the press release, “tula” can also mean weight and the keepers have estimated the calf weighs about 210 pounds.
“Tula’s nursing well and growing fast,” Lefave said. “Rose has been ‘eating for two’ for quite some time now, and when her baby was born, we increased her diet to support lactation. We’ve added some alfalfa to the menu recently, and she has been loving it.”
The zoo has not announced when Tula-Tu will be out in front of visitors yet. Right now, she’s getting to know her extended family and spending time with her mom.