Growth and Development in
African Elephants

In August, 2003, seven African elephants Loxodonta africana were imported from Swaziland to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in an effort to launch a reproductive program designed to enhance the genetic diversity of the current captive population. One of the females in the imported cohort, Ndula, was pregnant on arrival, with an estimated due date of February or March 2004.

Little is known about the growth and development of calves in captivity, so Jeff Andrews of the Park's Mammal Department and Dr. Fred Bercovitch of the Behavioral Biology Division of the San Diego Zoo's CRES designed a project aimed at documenting maternal behavior and calf maturation in elephants. On February 23, 2004, Ndula gave birth to her first calf, a male named Vus'musi, meaning "to build a family" in the Swazi language.

Vus'musi weighed approximately 230 pounds (104 kilograms), which was close to 5 percent of maternal body mass. In the days immediately after birth, although Vus'musi regularly nursed, he sustained a slight weight loss followed by a steady weight gain. During the first three months of life, he showed a fairly consistent weight gain of about 0.85 pounds (0.38 kilograms) per day. Nursing occurred throughout the day and night, with Vus'musi suckling an average of 101 times per 24-hour period.

Field studies in Africa have reported that calves spend an average of less than 10 percent of the day nursing during the first 3 months of life, and Vus'musi suckled for about 8 percent of the 24-hour day. Furthermore, in the wild, male calves nurse for an average of 86 seconds per bout, which is comparable to Vus'musi's average of 76 seconds per bout.

This research will be coordinated with both field studies and work at other zoological institutions in order to gain a more solid foundation for understanidng the life history of elephants and promoting conservation efforts in both captivity and the wild. By linking maternal activity patterns, calf growth, and suckling behavior, a framework that enhances the health and well-being of captive elephants will be established.