Disney Hopes Its ‘Curious, Confident’ Baby Elephant Will Inspire Visitors to Help the Species

On Thursday, Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom marked an exciting milestone when baby elephant Corra made her public debut in the park’s savannah.

The calf — which was born on December 13, 2023 — burst out of its living quarters, followed by its mother, Nadirah, who is 8 years old and was also born on the property in Florida. Then the pair grazed as visitors on the Kilmanjaro Safari ride were delighted by their presence as their vehicles passed silently by.

Later, Corra and Nadirah were joined by other members of their family, including Nadirah’s mom Donna and her half-sisters, Corra’s aunts Stella and Luna. The family of five will stick together in the savannah, guiding Corra through her early years, as is typical for elephants in the wild.

While the cuteness is brand new to Disney Parks visitors, it’s been years in the making for Animal Kingdom staff, who helped Nadirah conceive naturally with one of the park’s three male elephants, Mac, and then helped her through her pregnancy (22 months! ) and childbirth.

Corra the elephant makes her Disney World Animal Kingdom debut.

Walt Disney World

“The whole process is very slow,” says Liz Warncke, animal care manager for Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment. “We start with small presentations just to see [the elephants’] first reactions to each other. Fortunately for us, Mac and Nadirah have always been very interested in each other.”

Staff endocrinologists had already been monitoring Nadirah’s cycles and could tell from spikes in certain hormones that she was pregnant in early 2022. Since then, Animal Kingdom staff have monitored every aspect of her pregnancy, conducting ultrasounds, checking her vital signs and adjusting her diet as needed.

As Nadirah’s due date neared, the endocrinologists were able to set an 85-day window in which to expect Corra’s arrival. Then the big day finally came.

Baby African elephant born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the first time in 7 years

“She was uncomfortable the last few days before Corra went into labor, but we didn’t see any signs of active labor,” Warncke recalls. “And then right before [delivery] she actually lay down and went to sleep. Me and another guard were there, like, ‘Well, she’s sleeping, that’s probably not going to happen tonight.’ And then she got up and started showing signs of hard labor — she was doing some pretty intense stretching, moving around the yard — and maybe 10, 15 minutes later we had a calf on the ground.”

Nadira’s sister Luna, 13 — who is currently pregnant herself — was by her side during the birth. Although the janitors were watching, they did not intervene.

Corra the elephant in Disney’s Animal Kingdom with her herd.

Walt Disney World

“It was a support system for Nadirah, so she wasn’t alone,” Warncke explains of Luna’s presence. “They’re pregnant for so long and then all of a sudden there’s a tiny baby moving on the ground. She’s like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on!’ So they kind of come together and figure out what’s going on.”

Warncke says Nadirah was “nothing but amazing as a first-time mom. She loves Corra.” In her early days, Corra was too small to reach her particularly tall nursing mom. It was a problem staff could predict based on how they studied the growth of babies in the womb, so keepers built special platforms around the elephant yard, teaching Nadirah to walk up to them and position herself properly during pregnancy. Now, as Corra continues to grow, that’s less of a problem for the couple, who will continue to breastfeed in the months to come.

What has never been a problem for Corri is courage and independence. “She’s very curious and super confident,” says Warncke. “Anything new for her, there’s no hesitation there. She’s just really excited.”

Corra and her mother Nadirah.

Walt Disney World

Corra’s arrival is “an opportunity for zoos as a whole to tell people the story of elephants,” says Dr. Scott Terrell, director of animal and science operations for Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment. “Elephants are endangered. The fact that it takes two years between each baby means that every baby, whether in the wild or in a zoo environment, is critical in that sense.”

Terrell is especially proud that Animal Kingdom now has three generations of elephants living on its savannah, replicating the family dynamic seen in the wild.

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To those who might argue that animals are better off in the wild than in zoos or environments like Animal Kingdom, Terrell says that “good zoos care about two things: taking care of the animals and taking care of their counterparts in the wild. And that’s what my whole team lives by.”

To that end, Terrell says the Disney Conservation Fund has given $125 million to conservation efforts around the world, including the Elephants and Bees project, which protects both species by placing bees (which elephants fear) on farms in Africa where elephants would otherwise be removed. received. .

Corra and her mother Nadirah.

Walt Disney World

On Thursday, rangers left it up to Corra to decide whether or not to enter the public-facing savanna at Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safari, coaxing Nadirah with hay bales but little intervention otherwise. However, the calf ran ahead of its mother, surprising the safari visitors and even their drivers, many of whom were seeing the little one for the first time.

Disney’s adorable new baby elephant has made its public debut at Animal Kingdom Park

Corra and her family will spend several hours on the savannah most days, taking turns with the other elephants (which in addition to the three males include another mother-daughter pair) about who has been seen and who is in the more private elephant habitat.

The calf is already responding to her name — chosen by keepers, it’s Greek for “daughter” — and continues to settle nicely into her herd, bonding with her grandmother and aunts, despite what Warncke calls some “growing pains.” 7-year-old Stella about not being a child of the family anymore. He also sees his papa Mac often, although as in the wild, male and female elephants hang out separately in Animal Kingdom.

Terrell hopes Animal Kingdom visitors who see Corra will walk away inspired.

“Maybe they’ll go home and read a bit, learn about elephants and bees, or not buy ivory, or if they’re lucky enough, go to Africa on safari and contribute to the local economy,” he said. he says. “We can all make small changes in the world that will protect elephants.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education