Fort Worth Zoo
Travis, the Zoo’s newest Asian elephant calf made his first public debut in the main yard of Elephant Springs with mom Belle and grandmother Rasha on April 4, according to a release. This new one-month-old addition to the Fort Worth Zoo is reported to weigh a healthy 345 pounds.
To celebrate his healthy growth thus far, Travis was allowed to roam around the main Elephant Springs section of the zoo for the first time ever. During his first day out, Zoo officials say that Travis stuck close to his mother’s side, tiptoed near the water, laid down in a bed of hay, and received a dust bath, all within the first few minutes.
Now that Travis has grown and acclimated to his environment, guests can see him in the main habitat of Elephant Springs daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., just a few feet away from his half-brother Brazos (born Oct. 21, 2021).
Since Travis’s birthday on Feb. 23, 2023, he has spent most of his time bonding with his mom and grandmother in the barn and behind-the-scenes yards. This allowed Travis to acclimate to his surroundings and grow stronger every day (gaining 2 to 3 pounds per day). Zoo officials say that Travis has already been showing signs of independence, acing his swimming lessons in a smaller pool so well that keepers decided he was ready for the deep end. And what a deep end it is. Elephant Springs is equipped with a 400,000-gallon “river” in which many herd members regularly swim.
Zoo records indicate that Travis is the fifth-born Asian elephant calf born at the Fort Worth Zoo, following the arrival of half-brother Brazos born in 2021, Belle, his mother, in 2013, Bowie in 2013 (Bowie now resides at the Oklahoma City Zoo), and aunt, Bluebonnet, in 1998. This newest calf adds to the three generations of elephants that call the Zoo home, which mimics how herds are established in the wild.
