Download Packy's birthday press kit - Oregon Zoo

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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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 />

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