Zoo Babies
National Zoo Visitors Flock to See Three New Arrivals

Listen to Lisa Simeone's visit to see the National Zoo babies.

 View a photo gallery of the National Zoo babies.

 Watch video of the zoo babies and their mothers.

Kandula, just five weeks old, has already gained 40 pounds since birth. Photo: David Banks, NPR  View a photo gallery of the National Zoo babies.

Jan. 6, 2002 -- The Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park has three new arrivals that are quickly becoming star attractions -- not an easy feat, given that the zoo is also home to two giant pandas that are a perennial draw.

Zoo director Dr. Lucy Spelman gave Weekend All Things Considered host Lisa Simeone a guided tour of the facility and a personal introduction to the zoo's latest residents.

There's Kandula, a male Asian elephant born to mother Shanthi on Nov. 25, 2001. Kandula was just the second elephant calf ever to be born at the zoo -- Shanthi's first child, Kumari, died from a viral infection in 1994 when it was just 16 months old.

Spelman told Simeone that Kandula is part of an ambitious plan to expand the elephant population at the zoo, and also create a much larger habitat for the huge mammals. "Very few elephant calves are born in zoos each year, so this is a very special event," Spelman said when Kandula was born.

The still-unnamed male lowland gorilla is cradled in mother Mandara's arms. Photo: David Banks, NPR

Even on bitter cold days, crowds press into the zoo's elephant house to see Kandula. Judging by the crowd's reaction during Simeone's visit, the 366-pound Kandula registers at the top of the cute meter.

In a quieter part of the zoo, a male Sumatran tiger cub named Berani (Bahasa Indonesian for brave) plays with his mother Soyono in a darkened den all their own next to the zoo's bat exhibit. Spelman explained that by lighting the den and keeping the viewing area in the dark, visitors can view the mother and son without the tigers knowing they are being watched.

The feeling of privacy seems to relax the tigers, and during Simeone's visit Soyono was nursing Berani -- something Spelman says is a very rare and private moment for tigers, who can be very shy and secretive.

Berani shares a private pen at the zoo with his mother. Photo: David Banks, NPR  Watch video of the zoo babies and their mothers.

And then there's the baby gorilla, as yet unnamed. The baby was born Nov. 5, 2001 to Mandara, a 19-year-old lowland gorilla. The baby is Mandara's fourth child, and during Simeone's visit the new mother seemed to recognize Spelman and came up to the window, cradling her child. Mandara's species, native to the tropical forests of western and central Africa, is endangered.

Spelman is a vocal advocate of zoo breeding programs for endangered species. "We are part of the puzzle... to preserve our diversity of plants and animals," Spelman told Simeone. "In a zoo setting, we can do three things -- celebrate that animal, study it, and help protect it."

Browse more NPR coverage of the National Zoo.

Other Resources

• Official site of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park has an elephant cam and a tiger cam.

• Facts and links about the Sumatran tiger at Sumatran-Tigers.com.

• Facts about the lowland gorilla from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wash.

• Friends of the Asian Elephant, based in Thailand, has many links and online resources.