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 Age:
30
Weight: 7,170 lbs. as August 2012
Country of origin: Zimbabwe, Africa
Came to Indianapolis: 1984
Ivory comes from the Hwange National Park in
Zimbabwe, Africa. She arrived at the
Indianapolis Zoo on September 5, 1984 where she
joined the Zoo’s single resident elephant, Kubwa.
These two elephants were kept together by
themselves for the next four years, creating a
strong bond between them that still exists
today. In December 1987, Ivory and Kubwa were
moved to the new Indianapolis Zoo at its current
downtown site in White River State Park. Ivory
was the second African elephant in the world to
become pregnant by artificial insemination (Kubwa was
the first)! The Zoo's elephant reproduction
program is a significant part of its animal
conservation mission. Photo of Ivory
and Kedar in 2006 by Joe Tansey
Of all the elephants in the herd, Ivory is the
youngest adult, and is a little smaller and
rounder than the others. She has short, even
tusks. Ivory is intelligent, athletic, and a
very quick learner. She normally picks up new
behaviors and routines quickly. She will
occasionally be playful with keepers and the
other elephants. When excited in the yard,
Ivory is very vocal and active. Occasionally,
Kubwa and Ivory will “spar” in the yard by
tusking and pushing on one another, especially
in the winter.
On August 4, 2000, Ivory became the world's
second African elephant to give birth to a calf
conceived and born through artificial
insemination when she delivered male calf Ajani.
On August 31, 2006, she became the second
African elephant in the world to deliver a calf
by AI a second time. Her female calf, later
named Zahara, weighed in at a large 266 pounds
at birth. In the summer of 2012, she gave
birth to her third calf by AI, a female named
Nyah.
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