Make your schedules clear:The newest, cutest, and most well-known infant in Portland is getting ready to make her public debut later this week at the Oregon Zoo.
Tula-Tu, the Asian elephant calf born on Saturday, February 1st to mother Rose-Tu, has had a quiet yet exciting first two and a half weeks of life.Since then, she has mostly been visiting new herd members and practicing sounds with her small, gray trunk from the safety of the zoo’s enclosed indoor elephant habitat.
Residents of Rose City, however, will soon no longer be limited to the loving Today show segments or online peeks of the elephant calf.
For the first time since the calf’s birth almost three weeks ago, Tula-Tu and the rest of the herd will be visible to visitors when Forest Hall reopens to the public on Friday.
Steve Lefave, who is in charge of the zoo’s elephant section, said, “We know everyone has been excited to see Tula, and we appreciate your patience and cooperation.” To ensure Rose-Tu and her new calf are totally comfortable, we’re going carefully.
The indoor elephant habitat, which can accommodate up to 150 people, will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with 20-minute viewing periods. When Rose-Tu and her calf need some alone time, zoo employees may also choose to close Forest Hall.
(Note: The Oregon Zoo is open Friday through Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with last admission at 3 p.m. Seasonal hours extend until the end of February.)
Rose-Tu’s 11-day-old Asian elephant baby in Elephant Lands’ Forest Hall.Durham, Michael
According to Stephanie Preston, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, there are benefits to Portland’s fixation with its new, trunked infant. Less than 50,000 Asian elephants, including Rose-Tu and Tula-Tu, remain in the wild, making them an endangered species.
In a Forbes piece about Rose-Tu’s calf published on February 4, Preston stated that people are more inclined to think it’s critical to preserve the areas where the species calls home if they have more exposure to it.
Go to Tula-Tu, then. However, did you actually require persuasion?
Veronica Nocera writes on culture and life. She can be contacted at 503-221-8111, [email protected].
