The Fort Worth Zoo surprised guests with the newest member of the zoo family on Tuesday.
According to the Fort Worth Zoo, visitors got to meet Travis, the one-month-old Asian elephant calf, for the very first time.
Zoo officials said Travis was born at 2 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2023, and spent his first month bonding with his mother, Belle, and his grandmother, Rasha, in the barn and behind-the-scenes yards as he acclimated to his surroundings.
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Travis has been growing stronger every day, gaining two to three pounds daily in his first month, zoo officials said. At only 40 days old, Travis already weighs 345 pounds!
According to the Fort Worth Zoo, Travis aced his swimming lessons in a smaller pool, and zookeepers decided that he was ready to swim in the 400,000-gallon river in the Elephant Springs habitat.
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The zoo said Travis emerged to greet guests for the first time on April 4 in the main yard of Elephant Springs. He was accompanied by his mother and grandmother, and he spent his time tiptoeing near the water, laying down in a bed of hay, and receiving a dust bath.
Zoo guests can see Travis in the main habitat of Elephant Springs daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the zoo said. Travis's half-brother, Brazos, who was born Oct. 21, 2021, can be seen in the neighboring yard, also from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to the Fort Worth Zoo, when Travis and Brazos are not in the yard greeting zoo visitors, they will be participating in keeper-supervised play dates, training sessions, and plenty of naps.
Zoo officials said Travis is the fifth Asian elephant calf to be born at the Fort Worth Zoo.
Other Asian elephants born at the Fort Worth Zoo include Travis's half-brother and mother, who were born in 2021 and 2013, respectively. His aunt, Bluebonnet, was born in 1998, and the fifth elephant to be born at the zoo, Bowie, was born in 2013 and now resides at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
