Fort Worth Zoo Seeks Name for New Elephant Calf

The Fort Worth Zoo announced the Aug. 18 birth of a female Asian elephant calf weighing 250 pounds and 36 inches tall, born to 26-year-old mother Bluebonnet and father Romeo. The calf stood within six minutes, nursed within two hours, has been bonding with her mother behind the scenes, and joins siblings Brazos (2021) and half-brother Travis (2023) to bring the zoo’s Asian elephant herd to nine. She is on public view in Elephant Springs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, weather permitting, and the zoo is asking the public to vote through Oct. 6 on one of three Texas flower–themed names — Lady Bird (“Birdie”), Yellow Rose (“Rosie”) or Black‑eyed Susan (“Susie”) — with the winner to be announced Oct. 7. Fort Worth noted Bluebonnet was the zoo’s first elephant calf (1998) and emphasized its breeding and conservation work, saying Asian elephants are endangered with fewer than roughly 50,000 remaining in the wild. Separately, John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids launched a naming contest for its newborn pygmy hippo calf with options Hugo, Blitz or Sapo, online voting through Oct. 3 (donations add extra votes) and a planned livestream, noting pygmy hippos are critically endangered with about 2,500 left.