Sunday, July 13, 2008

Newest arrival at the Zoo!

Did you hear the exciting news? A new baby girl African elephant was born at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium last week! She's just about the sweetest (and biggest) baby I have ever seen. Check out this Post-Gazette article detailing her birth last Wednesday. On Friday, the Post-Gazette ran another story detailing the 2-day old pachyderm's progress. She's become quite the media darling as you can tell. And just this morning the zoo issued the following news release:

"The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's new baby girl elephant has a new name and she is going out into the elephant yard. "The baby's name is Angelina, chosen by a special donor," says Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Angelina will be out on exhibit everyday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. "We are excited for our visitors to have the opportunity to see her," says Dr.Baker. "But she is still young and we do have to be protective of her especially because she has very sensitive skin and we don't want her to get sunburned." Angelina's schedule will be dependent upon weather or if she is acting unusual for some reason. Her schedule will also be affected when the Zoo's second female elephant, Moja, has her baby. Moja is due any day now. Visitors can call the Zoo to check on Angelina's schedule. Visitors also can see Angelina through the large viewing windows at the Elephant Family Room where she is spending time with her family. "The family bonding is going very well," says Dr. Baker. "We are extremely proud of Angelina's older brother, Callee. At first he wasn't sure he liked having a little sister, but he likes her now. He gently touches her and he stands beside her to make sure she is ok." Angelina is 37 inches tall, but keepers have not had a chance to weigh her yet. That will be done within the next couple of days."

Little Angelina is one lucky elephant. Not only is she the center of attention, but the zoo is expecting another little pachyderm playmate for her any day now. I will keep you posted on the 2nd baby's arrival. In the meantime, check out all the different videos that the Zoo has up on their Web site. I'll be barking to you later!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How sweet!

Anonymous said...

We are so, so glad you enjoyed your visit to the Pittsburgh Zoo and really liked reading about your experience. Would you consider putting a link to the Zoo on your web site that would go to cute Zoo videos? It would help us with our SEO marketing and your readers will get a glimpse at some really cute videos. Thanks in advance for your support of the Zoo and for your consideration of this request.

Mishkat said...

Angelina is beautiful!