Asian elephant Tula-Tu, one of the star attractions at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, is celebrating her first birthday on Sunday, with an all-day party thrown by her keepers.

Tula was born on Feb. 1, 2025, to her mother Rose-Tu, who has lived at the zoo since her own birth in 1994. Weighing about 210 pounds at birth, the baby elephant now tips the scales at close to 1,000 pounds.

Tula’s keepers say she is still nursing while also enjoying foods such as fruit and alfalfa, a perennial legume widely cultivated as a forage crop for cattle.

According to the zoo, “Tula” means “balance” or “weight” in Sanskrit, aptly describing the harmony and stability the baby adds to the herd of Asian elephants at the institution, as well as her ability to stand on her own within minutes of being born. The “-Tu” suffix in her name honors her matrilineal ancestors, Rose-Tu and Me-Tu. Me-Tu died at the Oregon Zoo in 1996.

Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s elephant care program, said in a statement that from the very beginning, Tula has “been a symbol of hope and connection, for our community and beyond.” She served as honorary grand marshal of last year’s Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.

Tula is the youngest offspring of Rose-Tu, who previously gave birth to Samudra, a male, in 2008, and Lily in 2012. While the 10,000-pound Samudra still lives at the zoo, Lily was euthanized in 2018 due to elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses.

Asian elephants are a highly endangered species, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 remaining in fragmented populations across regions ranging from India to Borneo, a large island shared by Malaysia and Indonesia.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/01/tula-turns-one-oregon-zoo/