The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, D.C, is preparing for a big pregnancy.
On Monday, Nov. 24, the zoo announced that its Asian elephant Nhi Linh is expecting. This news marks the first time the National Zoo has had an expecting Asian elephant in nearly 25 years.
According to the facility, 12-year-old Nhi Linh became pregnant after successfully breeding with Spike, a 44-year-old male elephant, in April 2024. The moment took years of planning. In 2022, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) issued a breeding recommendation for the two elephants. This recommendation was formulated by scientists who track the lineage of individual animals in captive care. When matchmaking, the experts look for a lack of genetic relatedness, overall health, and temperament.
Nhi Linh still has some waiting to do before she meets her little one. The typical gestation period for an Asian elephant is 18 to 22 months, putting the elephant’s due date sometime between mid-January and early March.
The mother elephant’s human caretakers are
