INDIANAPOLIS — The vote to name the Indianapolis Zoo’s baby elephant has concluded and the baby calf will now be referred to as “Jabari.”
The baby boy is the first child of Zahara and was born back in September during Labor Day weekend. Jabari weighed 262 pounds at birth which is slightly above average as baby elephants typically weigh 200-250 pounds.
Source: Photo Courtesy of Indianapolis Zoo / Indy Zoo
Jabari was born through artificial insemination much like his mother. He is the first calf to be born to another elephant that was artificially inseminated. Zahara was one of the first two elephants in the world born through the process back in 2000.
The name Jabari is Swahili for “Brave” and “fearless.” It beat out other names like Maji and Zmbezi after over 8,000 votes were submitted. The zoo claims all of the names were of African descent matching his mother’s origins.
