Download Packy's birthday press kit - Oregon Zoo
Download Packy's birthday press kit - Oregon Zoo Download Packy's birthday press kit - Oregon Zoo
- Page 2 and 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview of Packy
- Page 4 and 5: 50 WAYS TO CELEBRATE PACKY’S 50TH
- Page 6 and 7: GETTING TO KNOW PACKY Packy is the
- Page 8 and 9: ELEPHANTS AT THE OREGON ZOO: A HIST
- Page 10 and 11: REMEMBERING DOC MABERRY Dr. Matthew
- Page 12 and 13: NEW ELEPHANT HABITAT In the 50 year
- Page 14 and 15: ASIAN ELEPHANT FACT SHEET Scientifi
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
Overview of Packy’s <strong>birthday</strong> ......................... 3<br />
50 ways to celebrate Packy’s 50th .................. 4<br />
Getting to know Packy ................................... 6<br />
Packy’s zoo family ........................................... 7<br />
Elephants at the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>: A history ........ 8<br />
Remembering Doc Maberry ........................... 10<br />
Packy’s cake ..................................................... 11<br />
New elephant habitat ..................................... 12<br />
Asian elephant fact sheet ............................... 14<br />
Photos and video ............................................. 15<br />
Contact<br />
For more information or to schedule an interview<br />
with <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> staff, please contact:<br />
Hova Najarian<br />
Media and Public Relations Officer<br />
503-220-5714<br />
hova.najarian@oregonzoo.org<br />
About the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong><br />
The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its<br />
mission of inspiring the community to create a better<br />
future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the<br />
zoo is currently working to save endangered California<br />
condors, Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits, <strong>Oregon</strong><br />
silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, western<br />
pond turtles, <strong>Oregon</strong> spotted frogs and Kincaid’s lupine.<br />
Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian<br />
elephants, polar bears and bats. The zoo relies in part<br />
on community support through donations to the<br />
<strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> Foundation to undertake these and many<br />
other animal welfare, education and sustainability<br />
programs. For hours and rates, visit www.oregonzoo.org<br />
or call 503-226-1561.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
2
OVERVIEW OF PACKY’S BIRTHDAY<br />
The beginning of a tradition: Packy celebrated his first <strong>birthday</strong> with great fanfare.<br />
Packy, <strong>Oregon</strong>’s most beloved elephant, is turning 50 years old April 14, 2012, and the zoo will<br />
celebrate his big day with a pachyderm-sized party featuring music, games, and cake for humans<br />
and elephants alike. Packy’s party will also commemorate his place in history — in 1962, Packy<br />
became the first elephant to be born in North America in 44 years, and he’s held a special spot in<br />
his fans’ hearts ever since.<br />
Admission deals for Packy’s <strong>birthday</strong> buddies<br />
Packy won’t be the only one to get a <strong>birthday</strong> treat at the zoo this April 14. Visitors born on the same date as<br />
Packy — April 14, 1962 — will receive free zoo admission for themselves and a guest on the day of Packy’s<br />
party. People turning 50 this year will receive 50 percent off admission for themselves and a guest, as will people<br />
born on April 14 of any year. Proof of birth date (government-issued ID) required.<br />
Packy’s party schedule<br />
Saturday, April 14<br />
9 a.m. — <strong>Zoo</strong> gates open.<br />
10 a.m. — Packy’s party begins, with live music, games and activities throughout the day.<br />
12 p.m. — Cake is served to partygoers courtesy of Lamb’s Wilsonville Market.<br />
1:45 p.m. — Competition winners parade Packy’s cake to the elephant exhibit.<br />
2 p.m. — The big moment! Packy chows down on his cake and gets knighted by the Royal Rosarians.<br />
4 p.m. — Packy’s party ends and zoo gates close (grounds remain open one hour after gates close).<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
3
50 WAYS TO CELEBRATE PACKY’S 50TH<br />
1. Eat a piece of <strong>birthday</strong> cake at Packy’s party,<br />
courtesy of Lamb’s Wilsonville Market.<br />
2. Attend the <strong>Oregon</strong> Historical Society’s<br />
Packy-themed Family Day March 17.<br />
3. Be nice to someone who is 50.<br />
4. Help make the zoo’s new home for<br />
pachyderms extra-elephantastic with a<br />
donation to OZF’s Presents for Packy program.<br />
5. Party at the zoo on Packy’s big day —<br />
Saturday, April 14!<br />
6. Attend the zoo’s April 13 Dine & Discover<br />
event, “Celebrating 50 Years With Packy.”<br />
Visit the zoo website for more information.<br />
7. Enjoy a Packy Parfait at the zoo’s<br />
Cascade Grill or AfriCafé.<br />
8. Eat an apple, carrot or yam (some of<br />
Packy’s favorites).<br />
9. Wear Packy ears on the big guy’s <strong>birthday</strong>.<br />
10. Throw hay at your best friend (just like<br />
elephants do).<br />
11. Taste the sweet side of conservation! Choose<br />
treats made with no palm oil or sustainable<br />
palm oil to protect forests for Asian elephants.<br />
12. Do the Packy Shuffle.<br />
13. Visit Packy’s Bar & Grill April 1-15 (known<br />
as Paddy’s Bar & Grill the other 50 weeks of<br />
the year).<br />
14. Hug something big and gray.<br />
15. Tweet, “Happy 50th Birthday Packy! Elephantsized<br />
celebration April 14 @<strong>Oregon</strong><strong>Zoo</strong><br />
#Packy50”<br />
16. Appreciate wrinkles.<br />
17. Concoct a “Pink Packy”cocktail to share with<br />
your friends, and post the recipe on the zoo’s<br />
Facebook page.<br />
18. Purchase a special “Pac-KEY” for use at all zoo<br />
talk boxes.<br />
19. Read up on elephants, and share your new<br />
knowledge with a friend.<br />
20. Attend an elephant story time at Multnomah<br />
County libraries. Visit the zoo website for a<br />
complete schedule.<br />
21. Help deliver Packy’s <strong>birthday</strong> cake! Enter to win<br />
at the zoo on the morning of Packy’s party.<br />
22. Submit an original “Poem for Packy” on the<br />
zoo’s Facebook page. You’ll be entered to win<br />
a zoo membership and the chance to help<br />
deliver Packy’s cake to him.<br />
23. Hold an elephant parade in your<br />
neighborhood.<br />
24. Become an elephant <strong>Zoo</strong> Parent to support<br />
the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>’s Future for Wildlife Fund at<br />
www.oregonzoo.org/Support.<br />
25. Wear a commemorative Packy shirt.<br />
26. <strong>Download</strong> and print a “Flat Packy” image<br />
and submit your most creative pictures with it<br />
at KGW.com. You’ll be entered to win a zoo<br />
membership and the chance to help deliver<br />
Packy’s cake to him.<br />
27. Tell an elephant joke.<br />
28. Drink a Packy’s Porter from Bridgeport Brewing<br />
Company (available at Bridgeport, Paddy’s Bar<br />
& Grill, and the zoo’s June 1 <strong>Zoo</strong> Brew event).<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
4
50 WAYS TO CELEBRATE PACKY’S 50TH<br />
29. Listen to 94/7 Alternative Portland, 105.1<br />
The Buzz, Charlie FM and 99.5 The Wolf for<br />
chances to win free tickets to Packy’s party.<br />
30. Wear some 1962 fashions.<br />
31. Watch a video about Packy’s life story on<br />
the zoo’s YouTube channel (video available<br />
March 30).<br />
32. Go snorkeling — elephants use their trunks<br />
like snorkels to breathe underwater.<br />
33. Watch KGW NewsChannel 8 for chances to<br />
win free tickets to Packy’s party.<br />
34. Watch Packy get knighted by the<br />
Royal Rosarians at 2 p.m. during his<br />
<strong>birthday</strong> party.<br />
35. Packy will get knighted under a Super Star<br />
rose, so plant one in his honor.<br />
36. Use cards and paper made from elephant<br />
poop the next time you write a letter. Ellie<br />
Pooh paper is available in the <strong>Zoo</strong> Store.<br />
37. Mail your letter<br />
with a “Save<br />
Vanishing Species”<br />
stamp to support<br />
elephant, tiger,<br />
great ape, rhino<br />
and marine turtle<br />
conservation.<br />
38. Share Packy’s party with<br />
your Facebook friends:<br />
http://on.fb.me/PackysParty<br />
39. Become an <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> member so you can<br />
visit Packy all year long!<br />
40. Practice nasal dexterity.<br />
41. Plant a tree in Packy’s honor.<br />
42. Eat an elephant ear at the zoo.<br />
43. Read a copy of “Packy & Me: The Incredible<br />
Tale of Doc Maberry and the Baby Elephant<br />
Who Made History” (available in the<br />
<strong>Zoo</strong> Store).<br />
44. Buy a plush Packy at the <strong>Zoo</strong> Store.<br />
45. Create some Packy artwork and share pictures<br />
on the zoo’s Facebook page.<br />
46. Sing the Packy song, written in 1962 by<br />
Lucille Frazier.<br />
47. Write your own Packy song, and share a video<br />
of it on the zoo’s Facebook page.<br />
48. Visit the zoo’s Lilah Callen Holden Elephant<br />
Museum to learn more about Packy’s species.<br />
49. Hydrate! Elephants drink 30-50 gallons of<br />
water a day.<br />
50. Sing to Packy on his <strong>birthday</strong> when he receives<br />
his cake at 2 p.m.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
5
GETTING TO KNOW PACKY<br />
Packy is the tallest Asian<br />
elephant in the United<br />
States at 10 feet, 6<br />
inches, and his 12,500-pound<br />
weight isn’t anything to sneeze<br />
at either. While Packy has<br />
quite the sweet tooth — he’s<br />
particularly fond of juicy fruits<br />
— keepers help him maintain<br />
a healthy weight through<br />
exercise, diet and regular<br />
weigh-ins. Packy has sired seven<br />
calves, including <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong><br />
elephants Sung-Surin (Shine)<br />
and Rama.<br />
His lineage<br />
Packy’s father, Thonglaw, might<br />
be considered “the elephant<br />
father of North America.” In<br />
addition to Packy, Thonglaw<br />
fathered 14 other calves, a<br />
record at the time.<br />
Packy’s 50th <strong>birthday</strong> story began in 1960, when<br />
Thonglaw and female elephant Belle were living in<br />
Woodland, Wash., with noted animal trader Morgan<br />
Berry. The elephants bred that July and were then<br />
brought to the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> by Berry, along with another<br />
female, Pet.<br />
From then on, zoo veterinarian Dr. Matthew Maberry<br />
kept a meticulous chart of Belle’s pregnancy. Always a<br />
quiet, calm animal, Belle behaved normally during her<br />
pregnancy, but by her 18th month, she began to show<br />
signs of discomfort.<br />
For Maberry and senior elephant keeper Al Tucker,<br />
it was the beginning of a hectic time. Like zoo staff<br />
everywhere, they knew little about elephant births,<br />
and there were few books of any use on the subject. A<br />
pragmatist with broad wildlife obstetrical experience,<br />
Maberry had delivered lions, tigers and buffaloes at the<br />
zoo — but no elephants. Maberry always said in those<br />
days, “I learned from Belle and she learned from me.”<br />
By the 19th month of Belle’s<br />
pregnancy, Maberry could feel<br />
and hear a fetal heartbeat, and<br />
thought it was “just a matter of<br />
time.” No one then knew the<br />
duration of an elephant’s gestation<br />
period, as it was <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong><br />
elephant births — starting with<br />
Packy — that established gestation<br />
lasts 20 to 22 months.<br />
His birth<br />
When the zoo announced in 1961<br />
that Belle was pregnant, the city<br />
went wild. No Asian elephants<br />
had been born in the Western<br />
Hemisphere in almost 44 years.<br />
Since the first elephant arrived in<br />
the U.S. aboard a ship in 1796, in<br />
fact, only nine elephants had been<br />
born on the continent, and most<br />
had died suddenly in infancy.<br />
Portland radio stations launched hourly “Belle Bulletins,”<br />
and the zoo was deluged with elephantine baby-shower<br />
gifts. Local department stores stocked up on, and<br />
immediately sold out of, stuffed toy elephants. News<br />
reporters from around the country camped out in the<br />
elephant barn to wait for the birth.<br />
Belle finally dropped her baby at 5:58 a.m. on Saturday,<br />
April 14, 1962. Within 40 minutes the baby was nursing.<br />
(Packy was the first North American elephant to be<br />
raised exclusively on mother’s milk.) At birth, Packy<br />
weighed 225 pounds and stood 35 inches tall.<br />
During Packy’s first days on view, the baby elephant<br />
attracted the largest crowds then seen at the zoo.<br />
Attendance that year topped one million for the first<br />
time, a record not broken until the zoo’s Africa exhibit<br />
opened in 1989.<br />
His name<br />
Belle’s fuzzy little elephant baby became known as Packy<br />
on April 24, 1962. The name was chosen from among<br />
more than 3,000 entries in a contest held by radio<br />
station KPOJ. Wayne W. French of Gresham suggested<br />
the winning name, earning himself a portable stereo set.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
6
PACKY’S ZOO FAMILY<br />
Packy’s ties to the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>’s other elephants run deep. Explore our herd’s family tree to see how this<br />
tightly bonded group has grown over time. Elephants are matriarchal, so the herd’s two main genealogical<br />
lines are indicated by their female founders, Belle and Rosy.<br />
PET<br />
SUNG-SURIN (SHINE)<br />
BELLE<br />
PACKY<br />
RAMA<br />
THONGLAW<br />
ROSY<br />
TUSKO<br />
SAMUDRA<br />
HUGO<br />
ME-TU<br />
ROSE-TU<br />
Sam’s new sibling is<br />
due late fall 2012.<br />
CHENDRA joined the herd in 1999 after she was<br />
orphaned in Borneo; she is Sam’s favorite “auntie.”<br />
Hugo photo by Benjamin Brink, courtesy of The <strong>Oregon</strong>ian.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
7
ELEPHANTS AT THE OREGON ZOO: A HISTORY<br />
If there were an elephant capital of North America,<br />
it would likely be located at the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>. The<br />
zoo has been a pioneer in elephant breeding for<br />
nearly six decades, and much of its history is intimately<br />
intertwined with elephants. Many important zoo<br />
milestones involve these gentle yet giant creatures,<br />
which have inspired generations of visitors while<br />
helping scientists and researchers make important<br />
breakthroughs — discoveries that have helped us better<br />
understand and protect elephants around the world.<br />
The story starts with an elephant named Rosy, who<br />
arrived in Portland from Thailand in 1953. Rosy sparked<br />
public excitement for a zoo that was then largely<br />
outdated and overlooked, and following her arrival,<br />
voters passed a special levy to finance construction of<br />
a new, modern facility at the current zoo’s location —<br />
a levy that voters had rejected just a few years before.<br />
The zoo opened<br />
at its new<br />
location in 1959.<br />
Only three years<br />
later, the zoo<br />
made history<br />
when Packy was<br />
born on April 14,<br />
1962. Packy was<br />
the first elephant<br />
to have been born in the Western Hemisphere in 44<br />
years. At the time, only nine other elephants had been<br />
born in North America. The event earned international<br />
attention and drew more than a million visitors to<br />
the zoo for the first time. Life magazine covered the<br />
momentous occasion with a lengthy feature describing<br />
the “nativity of Packy.”<br />
While its breeding efforts have earned it an international<br />
reputation, the zoo has also encouraged and actively<br />
participated in groundbreaking elephant research.<br />
Discoveries made here have profoundly improved our<br />
ability to understand and protect these endangered<br />
animals. In the 1970s, researchers at the zoo learned<br />
how to determine the estrous cycle of female elephants,<br />
one of the most important keys to understanding<br />
elephant breeding. And, while observing the zoo’s<br />
elephant herd in 1984, scientist Katherine B. Payne<br />
discovered that elephants use infrasonic communication,<br />
producing sounds outside the range of human hearing.<br />
Currently, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> is partnering with several<br />
North American zoos and universities to conduct a new<br />
study of elephant welfare, one of the first major research<br />
projects to look at positive indicators of elephants’ wellbeing<br />
— in essence, signs that an elephant is mentally<br />
and physically fit. The zoo also continues to track<br />
progesterone levels in its female elephants to better<br />
understand elephant reproduction. The progesterone<br />
information collected at the zoo is now the largest longterm<br />
data set about elephant estrous cycles in the world.<br />
In addition to such research, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> has played<br />
an important role in implementing the highest possible<br />
standards of care and management for elephants.<br />
Through its AZA affiliation, the zoo has hosted a variety<br />
of conferences and events — like the first and second<br />
North American Conferences on Elephant Foot Care and<br />
Pathology and the fifth International Elephant Research<br />
Symposium — that gather elephant experts from across<br />
the country and around the globe. The zoo participates<br />
in these events to ensure our herd benefits from the<br />
most current management practices regarding diet,<br />
exercise, enrichment and health care.<br />
Packy’s birth kicked off a baby boom among <strong>Oregon</strong><br />
<strong>Zoo</strong> elephants. Not half a year later, Rosy, the zoo’s<br />
original elephant, gave birth to Me-Tu. Over the next<br />
four decades, more elephants were born here than at<br />
any other zoo in North America. When the Association<br />
of <strong>Zoo</strong>s and Aquariums created its Species Survival<br />
Plan for elephants in 1985, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> played<br />
a central role. Mike Keele, now the zoo’s director of<br />
elephant habitats, was a chief architect of the plan,<br />
which coordinates breeding efforts among AZA-member<br />
organizations across the country.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
8
ELEPHANTS AT THE OREGON ZOO: A HISTORY<br />
When bull elephant Tusko joined the herd in 2005, the<br />
zoo again began breeding among its elephants, adding<br />
a new chapter to an already rich history. The <strong>Oregon</strong><br />
<strong>Zoo</strong> is now home to three cows, three bulls and one<br />
young male. Five members of this tightly knit family<br />
were born at the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>, and Rose-Tu has another<br />
calf on the way. Due in late fall of 2012, the new baby<br />
isn’t the only exciting thing in store for the elephants:<br />
Designs for the zoo’s new elephant habitat are under<br />
way, with construction scheduled to begin in 2013. The<br />
herd’s new home will include a variety of habitats and<br />
terrain, from open meadow to hilly forest, and will offer<br />
more opportunities for the elephants to make choices<br />
about how and where they spend their time — inside or<br />
outside, in a group or away from the herd, playing in the<br />
water or walking through the grass.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
9
REMEMBERING DOC MABERRY<br />
Dr. Matthew Maberry, the veterinarian who<br />
famously attended Packy’s birth, came to the<br />
zoo in 1958, one year before it moved to its current<br />
location. Maberry was part of a team working to<br />
design new facilities that would provide elephants<br />
with much more freedom than was common in zoos<br />
at the time. These facilities, built in 1960, allowed<br />
for normal social interactions and natural breeding<br />
among the elephants.<br />
“Dr. Maberry’s work helped provide the foundation<br />
on which we’ve built today’s elephant-care<br />
programs,” said Mike Keele, <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> director<br />
of elephant habitats.<br />
The zoo’s new facilities led to a string of successful<br />
pregnancies and births –– beginning, of course, with<br />
Packy on April 14, 1962. Not half a year later, Rosy,<br />
the zoo’s original elephant, gave birth to Me-Tu. By<br />
1971, the year that Keele joined the zoo and met Dr.<br />
Maberry, 10 Asian elephants had been born. No other<br />
elephants, Asian or African, had been born anywhere<br />
else in the U.S. during this time.<br />
“During these first pregnancies, little was known<br />
about fetal development, neonatal care, maternal<br />
behavior and a host of other details associated with<br />
successful elephant pregnancies and births,” Keele<br />
noted. “Dr. Maberry assembled a team to monitor<br />
a pregnant elephant’s health and tried some fetalmonitoring<br />
approaches that had not been attempted<br />
before. He and his team were able to modify or<br />
create medical equipment to monitor the heartbeat<br />
of the fetus, thereby establishing a way to confirm<br />
a pregnant elephant. This was significant because<br />
most elephants don’t show overt physical signs of<br />
pregnancy.”<br />
Keele, who went on to become a chief architect<br />
of the Association of <strong>Zoo</strong>s and Aquariums’ Species<br />
Survival Plan for elephants, remembers Maberry<br />
as a patient teacher, generous with his time and<br />
experience.<br />
“During my first few years here, I served under his<br />
supervision as a keeper providing care for animals<br />
held in the hospital and quarantine areas,” Keele said.<br />
“I was 18 when I started and had very little animalcare<br />
experience. Dr. Maberry was one from whom I<br />
learned much.”<br />
Maberry’s most recent visit to the zoo was Jan. 19 for<br />
the grand opening of a new veterinary medical center.<br />
He died the following week at the age of 94.<br />
“Dr. Maberry dedicated his life to the health and<br />
well-being of animals,” Keele said. “We were very<br />
much hoping he would be here to help celebrate<br />
Packy’s 50th <strong>birthday</strong> with us. We will certainly be<br />
thinking of him.”<br />
Maberry and his wife, Patricia, chronicled some of<br />
the veterinarian’s early days at the zoo in “Packy<br />
and Me,” a book published last year. For more<br />
information, visit www.packyandme.com.<br />
Dr. Matthew Maberry, left, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>’s first<br />
veterinarian, attended the opening of the zoo’s<br />
new Veterinary Medical Center Jan. 19, along<br />
with (left to right) his wife, Patricia Maberry,<br />
Mike Keele (the zoo’s director of elephant<br />
habitats) and Dr. Mitch Finnegan, current zoo<br />
veterinarian.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
10
PACKY’S CAKE<br />
On his <strong>birthday</strong>, Packy always enjoys an enormous cake made by the zoo’s chef. While the cake’s design changes<br />
from year to year, the way Packy eats his baked good remains the same: quickly. At his 50th <strong>birthday</strong> party,<br />
Packy will dig into his one-of-a-kind cake at 2 p.m., when competition winners deliver it to the elephant exhibit.<br />
–––— Anatomy of a cake ——<br />
Fruit-and-veggie<br />
“candles”<br />
Frosting<br />
Hefty wholewheat<br />
bread slabs<br />
Even more frosting<br />
Yam, apple<br />
and banana slices<br />
Weight: 40 pounds • Height: 2 feet<br />
Elephants shouldn’t have all the fun…<br />
Humans can enjoy cake at Packy’s party, too, courtesy of Lamb’s Wilsonville Market.<br />
Lamb’s cakes are always spectacular, so be sure to grab a piece at noon – human<br />
and elephant cakes alike go fast on Packy’s <strong>birthday</strong>.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
11
NEW ELEPHANT HABITAT<br />
In the 50 years since Packy’s birth, we have learned more about elephants than was known in the<br />
previous 5,000 years. <strong>Zoo</strong>s now have a much better understanding of what it takes to protect the physical<br />
well-being of these gentle giants and to satisfy their social and behavioral needs.<br />
Thanks to funding from a 2008 bond, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> is designing a new Asian elephant habitat that<br />
will put this understanding to work and exemplify the community’s commitment to animal welfare and<br />
sustainability. The habitat will not only exceed standards set by the Association of <strong>Zoo</strong>s and Aquariums<br />
but also serve as a pioneering example of exhibit design.<br />
As work progresses, the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> Foundation will be seeking donor support to augment the new<br />
habitat and ensure the zoo remains a world leader in elephant management and care.<br />
Timeline<br />
2010-2012: Research and design, with final<br />
designs completed by December 2012.<br />
2013-2015: Construction will be conducted in<br />
stages so elephants can remain at the zoo.<br />
NORTH BYPASS<br />
CHUTE<br />
BRIDGE<br />
CROSSING<br />
EAST<br />
HUB<br />
UNDERPASS LINKAGE<br />
TO NORTH HABITAT<br />
ENTRY/EXIT COURT<br />
HILLTOP OVERLOOK<br />
Animal welfare<br />
The habitat’s design prioritizes elephant<br />
comfort, health and enjoyment by meeting<br />
the animals’ physical and behavioral needs.<br />
Elephants will be able to participate in a<br />
variety of enriching social interactions and<br />
make more choices about how and where<br />
they spend their time. In the wild, females<br />
live in matriarchal herds where multiple<br />
generations typically remain together for life.<br />
The habitat will provide the space needed to<br />
support such family groups while giving bull<br />
elephants more opportunities to interact with<br />
female herds.<br />
Protecting wildlife<br />
Healthy elephants aren’t the new habitat’s only<br />
goal — its sustainable operations and visitor<br />
experience will also help keep ecosystems<br />
healthy. The new buildings will meet or exceed<br />
LEED silver certification standards and include<br />
eco-friendly features like native plantings<br />
and a geothermal loop; the loop draws on<br />
the earth’s relatively consistent underground<br />
temperature to provide heating and cooling.<br />
It will also inspire visitors to care about and<br />
protect Asian elephants through improved<br />
viewing opportunities, engaging informational<br />
displays and educational experiences.<br />
LSS<br />
BUILDING<br />
SERVICE<br />
ROAD<br />
RAVINE<br />
HABITAT<br />
KEEPER TOWER &<br />
ELEPHANT ACTIVITY STATION<br />
FLEX HUB A<br />
SWIM POOL (CAN OPERATE<br />
AT MULTIPLE LEVELS)<br />
FLEX HUB B<br />
CONCERT<br />
LAWN<br />
MUD<br />
CHALLENGE<br />
ENCOUNTER<br />
HABITAT<br />
CANYON<br />
MAZE<br />
WATERSCAPE<br />
MOGULSCAPE<br />
HABITAT<br />
THEATER<br />
SOUTH<br />
MEANDER<br />
HABITAT<br />
DEMONSTRATION<br />
SHIFT YARD<br />
OBSTACLE<br />
CANYON<br />
SOUTH BYPASS<br />
CHUTE<br />
SPLASH &<br />
WADE POOL<br />
OFF-EXHIBIT<br />
YARD<br />
SERVICE<br />
YARD<br />
ELEPHANT ACTIVITY<br />
STATION<br />
LEGEND<br />
ELEPHANT HABITAT<br />
VISITOR PATHS<br />
SERVICE ROAD<br />
WATER HABITAT<br />
BUFFER LANDSCAPE<br />
TRANSFERS / CHUTES<br />
EXISTING TREE<br />
PROPOSED TREE<br />
The southern portion of the habitat includes the Elephant<br />
Meander outdoor habitat, Forest Hall and Elephant<br />
Building (barn).<br />
FOREST HALL<br />
ENTRY/EXIT COURT<br />
ELEPHANT BUILDING<br />
Forest Hall, the habitat’s indoor viewing area.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
12
NEW ELEPHANT HABITAT<br />
Elephant areas<br />
Elephant Meadow: A broad, grassy expanse of land,<br />
the northern habitat will be accessible to elephants<br />
from the Elephant Meander area.<br />
Forest Hall: For visitors, this main indoor viewing area<br />
will offer both panoramic and up-close views of the<br />
animals as well as a variety of educational displays. For<br />
elephants, it will offer sand flooring, enrichment stations<br />
and access to the outdoors — elephants will often be<br />
able to come and go as they please.<br />
Elephant Building: This behind-the-scenes barn will<br />
extend from Forest Hall. Features like natural flooring<br />
materials, spacious holding facilities and a quarantine<br />
area with its own heating and ventilation systems will<br />
help ensure elephant health and well-being. Taken<br />
together, Forest Hall and the Elephant Building form one<br />
of the largest indoor elephant facilities in North America<br />
at 40,000 square feet.<br />
Elephant Meander: The habitat’s southern portion will<br />
have a rich landscape with mud flats, grassy hills, sandy<br />
beaches, water activity pools and shaded resting spots.<br />
Elephant<br />
Meadow<br />
Forest Hall<br />
Elephant Building<br />
Elephant Meander<br />
<strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> team<br />
Kim Smith, zoo director<br />
Mike Keele, director of elephant habitats<br />
Bob Lee, elephant curator<br />
Jim Mitchell, project manager<br />
Design team<br />
SRG Partnership, architects<br />
CLR Design, zoo exhibit architects<br />
Atelier Dreiseitl, landscape architects<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
13
ASIAN ELEPHANT FACT SHEET<br />
Scientific name<br />
Elephas maximus<br />
Range and habitat<br />
Asian elephants live in Southeast Asia in a wide range<br />
of habitats, from thick jungle to grassy plains.<br />
Average size<br />
Weight: 6,000-13,000 pounds<br />
Height: 7-10 feet at the shoulder<br />
Packy is large for an Asian elephant at about 12,500<br />
pounds and a towering 10 feet, 6 inches.<br />
Description<br />
Asian elephants are stouter than their African<br />
counterparts, with a shorter stature but heavier weight.<br />
Asian elephants are also distinguished by rounded backs,<br />
small ears and relatively smooth skin; African elephants<br />
have dipped backs, large ears (shaped like the African<br />
continent) and very wrinkly skin.<br />
Trunks: Elephants use their trunks to communicate,<br />
touch, eat, drink and smell. This versatile body part has<br />
hundreds of muscles and is amazingly strong and flexible<br />
— it can lift heavy logs or pluck a single leaf from a<br />
tree. Elephants can even use their trunks like snorkels to<br />
breathe underwater.<br />
Tusks and tushes: Some male Asian elephants have<br />
tusks, long incisors that grow up to 5 feet. Most females<br />
and many males have tushes, which are much smaller<br />
and lack a central nerve (unlike tusks).<br />
Life expectancy<br />
45 years<br />
Diet<br />
In the wild, these herbivores eat bamboo, fruit, leaves,<br />
shoots and grasses. The <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong>’s elephants eat<br />
fresh produce, hay, oats and enrichment treats like<br />
seasonal veggies and plant clippings.<br />
Behavior<br />
Asian elephants are highly social animals that form<br />
strong bonds with other herd members. Females and<br />
calves live in multigenerational, matriarchal herds, while<br />
adult males spend some time away from herds and some<br />
in “bachelor” herds.<br />
Reproduction<br />
Males reach sexual maturity at 8-12 years and females<br />
at 6-10 years. Females usually give birth to a single calf<br />
after a gestation of 20-22 months. During birth, the<br />
mother is attended by other adult females (“aunties”).<br />
Status in the wild<br />
Asian elephants are listed as endangered under the<br />
U.S. Endangered Species Act, CITES Appendix I and the<br />
IUNC’s Red List. The Association of <strong>Zoo</strong>s and Aquariums<br />
coordinates an Asian elephant Species Survival Plan,<br />
of which the <strong>Oregon</strong> <strong>Zoo</strong> is a participant. The species<br />
is threatened by habitat loss, poaching and fatalities<br />
stemming from conflicts with human activities like<br />
agriculture.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
14
PHOTOS AND VIDEO<br />
These and other images are available in high resolution format for <strong>press</strong> in a SmugMug gallery at<br />
http://bit.ly/Packy50Gallery.<br />
Contact zoo media relations officer Hova Najarian at 503-220-5714 or hova.najarian@oregonzoo.org to request<br />
additional photos and videos or to schedule an interview with zoo staff.<br />
A web video with footage from Packy’s birth is available on the zoo’s YouTube channel at<br />
http://bit.ly/Packy1962.<br />
Packy enjoys his 48th<br />
<strong>birthday</strong> cake. Photo<br />
by Kristine T. Torres.<br />
Packy in 1962.<br />
Photo by Pete Liddel.<br />
Packy on exhibit, 2012.<br />
Photo by Michael Durham.<br />
Packy on exhibit, 2008.<br />
Photo by<br />
Michael Durham.<br />
Packy on exhibit, mid 1990s.<br />
Photo by Michael Durham.<br />
Packy’s first <strong>birthday</strong>. Photo by<br />
Christina Christensen.<br />
Packy on exhibit, 2012.<br />
Photo by Michael Durham.<br />
Girl Scouts bring Packy a first <strong>birthday</strong><br />
cake. Donated snapshot.<br />
Packy on exhibit, 2012. Photo by<br />
Michael Durham.<br />
Kenny Berry weighs newborn<br />
Packy. Photo by Ray Wing.<br />
OREGON ZOO PACKY’S 50TH BIRTHDAY 2012 MEDIA KIT<br />
15