Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

The Baby Elephant Who Won Over The Internet And Her Own Public Vote

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC has not had a successful Asian elephant birth in nearly 25 years. So when a calf was born at 1:15 in the morning on the second day of February, keepers who had been waiting for this moment for two decades were, by their own description, overjoyed. The calf was born to 12-year-old mother Nhi Linh and 44-year-old father Spike, weighing 308 pounds and measuring 38.5 inches tall. Asian elephants are endangered, with fewer than 50,000 remaining in the world, and because the parents’ genes are not well represented in zoo populations, this calf will help strengthen the genetic diversity of the species in North America and beyond. Within five hours of birth she was walking on her own. Eleven days later, the public was invited to vote on what to name her, with every dollar donated counting as one vote and all funds going directly to elephant conservation.

Nearly 59,000 dollars later, the results were in. The calf’s name is Linh Mai, pronounced LIN-my, a Vietnamese name that translates to spirit blossom. Linh means spirit or soul, and Mai refers to the apricot blossom, a flower associated with Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The name honors the Vietnamese heritage of her mother’s name, Nhi Linh. Since the vote, keepers have been working carefully to introduce the calf to her herd, a delicate social process for a species as intelligent and emotionally sensitive as elephants. An older elephant named Swarna has taken on the role of auntie, staying close to the calf overnight and striking just the right balance between maternal care and letting her explore freely. Linh Mai will make her public debut at the zoo on Earth Day, April 22, with worldwide fans able to watch her live on the zoo’s Elephant Cam.

Source: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/public-has-spoken-national-zoos-new-elephant-calf-named-linh-mai

PrevPreviousThe Oldest Dog On Record Just Got Even Older
Next40 Species Including Cheetahs And Snowy Owls Just Got Global ProtectionNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

40 Species Including Cheetahs And Snowy Owls Just Got Global Protection

April 5, 2026

Representatives from 132 countries and the European Union gathered in Brazil for one of the world’s most important wildlife meetings and left with a significant win for some of the planet’s most beloved and vulnerable animals. The United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species concluded its COP15 summit

Read More
Happy News

The Baby Elephant Who Won Over The Internet And Her Own Public Vote

April 5, 2026

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC has not had a successful Asian elephant birth in nearly 25 years. So when a calf was born at 1:15 in the morning on the second day of February, keepers who had been waiting for this moment for two decades were, by their

Read More
Happy News

The Oldest Dog On Record Just Got Even Older

April 5, 2026

Dogs have been living alongside humans for a very long time, but two new studies published in the journal Nature just pushed that timeline back by about 5,000 years and introduced us to the oldest dog whose identity has ever been confirmed through genetics. Researchers examined ancient DNA from the

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.