It's A Boy! The 22nd Calf Born into the Ringling Bros.(R) Conservation and Breeding Program

VIENNA, Va., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation(R) proudly announces the birth of a healthy male Asian elephant -- marking the twenty-second birth in what has proven to be the most successful Asian elephant breeding program in the Western Hemisphere. Most importantly, this is the first calf in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey assisted reproduction program born as a result of artificial insemination (AI). Born on Jan. 19, the inaugural eve of the 44th President of the United States at 11:50 p.m. and weighing 250 pounds, the calf has been named Barack. This calf is a first for fourteen-year-old Bonnie, who also was born at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, and until recently was performing with The Greatest Show On Earth(R). Two male elephant donors from the Ringling Bros. herd contributed to the AI procedure and Ringling Bros. veterinarians will soon be taking blood samples to determine which donor is the calf's father. As with each calf born at Ringling Bros., Barack will have a team of veterinarians and elephant husbandry specialists that will watch over and care for him as he grows and develops.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090127/PH63514 )

"The reality is that the worldwide elephant population is declining, which means the overall mortality rate is increasing and that is a heart breaking fact. That is why at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey practical solutions that help to care for and to save these magnificent animals are critical," says Kenneth Feld, Founder of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation<
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