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Baby Elephant Needs A Name

POSTED: 9:28 am PDT September 6, 2008
UPDATED: 9:43 am PDT September 6, 2008

The baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo needs a name.

And zoo officials want you to help.

Rose-Tu, the second-smallest elephant in the herd, gave birth to the 286-pound elephant late last month. The baby elephant's father is 36-year-old Tusko, a 13,500-pound elephant who arrived at the zoo on a breeding loan in 2005.

The zoo has listed five names on its Web site and opened the poll up for voting:

  • Amul: Hindi for "priceless, of inestimable worth."
  • Bao: Chinese for "precious treasure."
  • Duc: (rhymes with hook or look): Vietnamese for "good, moral, desire." (Also is a portion of former Trail Blazer Kevin Duckworth's name, honoring the late basketball player.
  • Hugo-Tu: This name honors the baby's mother, Rose-Tu, and maternal grandfather, Hugo. Hugo comes from the Germanic word for "mind, heart or spirit" and Tu is Vietnamese for "tree."
  • Samudra (nickname Sam): Hindi for "lord of the ocean." (The calf loves his baths!)
  • Voting ends Thursday at 5 p.m. The zoo plans to announce the winning name on Friday.

    Asian elephants are an endangered species with an estimated 38,000 to 51,000 living in the wild. The Oregon Zoo has a renowned breeding program for endangered Asian elephants.

    Prior to last month's birth, the last elephant born at the zoo was 14 years ago.

    Related: Vote here.

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