In spectacular fashion, the Fort Worth Zoo announced Thursday that a second Asian elephant had been born at the zoo this summer.
Over the last few days, the zoo had hinted that an animal had been born at the zoo, and that whatever the animal was was a boy, but they wouldn't reveal what the animal was until Thursday morning.
The mystery bundle of joy was revealed to be a 230-pound Asian elephant named Bowie, who was born six weeks early and delivered Aug. 5 by first-time mommy Bluebonnet.
Bowie is only a month younger than his Aunt Belle, who was born at the zoo on July 7 to Rasha, his grandmother. Bowie is only the third to be born at the zoo in their 104-year history. His mother Bluebonnet, also Rasha's daughter and Belle's full sister, was the first.
With Bowie's birth, Asian elephants at the zoo now span three generations.
"There's a number of things that make this significant; Most especially for this herd, that it truly is beginning to mimic what happens in the wild. We have three generations of elephants in this yard now, and so grandmother is here, aunt is here ... so people are going to see how a herd behaves in the wild," said Alexis Wilson, with the Fort Worth Zoo.
Thursday is the first day Bowie will be visible to zoo visitors. He is expected to be seen, and heard (zookeepers say he has been very vocal since birth), at various times of the day as he gets acclimated to his home. The zoo said Rasha, Belle, Bluebonnet and Bowie can be seen daily at the following times (subject to change): 10:15 a.m. to noon, and briefly at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.
The Fort Worth Zoo is now home to seven Asian elephants, four females and three males.
In other zoo baby news, Asha, a young rhino, celebrated her first birthday at the Fort Worth Zoo on Aug. 16. Meanwhile, across town at the Dallas Zoo, a rare ocelot was born to new parents on June 26.
Photo Credit: NBC 5 News