SEATTLE - The Puget Sound Blood Center joined Woodland Park Zoo today to draw the final of 15 units of blood from the zoo's pregnant Asian elephant, 21-year-old Chai (rhymes with "shy). After the Blood Center processes the blood into plasma, the units are frozen and stored at the zoo as a contingent reserve for the newborn calf. The first-time expectant mother is due to give birth late October.

The milestone event will mark the first-ever elephant birth for Woodland Park in its 100-year history and also the first in all of Washington state. Most important, it represents a significant birth for the dwindling Asian elephant population in North American zoos. In addition to Chai, Woodland Park's herd consists of all females: 33-year-old Bamboo and 20-year-old Sri (pronounced "see"), both Asian; and 30-year-old Watoto, African.

During the past year, the zoo has been taking every precaution to ensure a successful birth and healthy calf. About 20 percent of elephant calves are stillborn or live less than one day. Further, just under 25 percent of newborn elephants die before 1 year of age due to various complications. "Obese elephants have been shown to have complicated labors and difficult deliveries," explains zoo Lead Elephant Keeper Pat Maluy (as in "mail-you"). "Therefore, we've been carefully monitoring Chai's weight and diet by weighing her every two weeks." Additionally, to help increase Chai's stamina and strength in her legs and abdominal muscles, Chai has undergone a daily regiment of power walks and a variety of demanding calisthenics, including repetitive lie-downs and leg lifts.

The frozen reserve of plasma is yet another safeguard to sustain a healthy calf. "If somehow the newborn calf doesn't nurse, our back-up plan is to use Chai's stored plasma to supply the calf with the mother's antibodies that are present in the plasma," says zoo Senior Veterinarian Dr. Janis Joslin. "Normally the calf would get antibiotics from the colostrum, the first milk secreted by the mother after giving birth. Without these vital antibodies, the newborn would not be protected against exposure to viral and bacterial infections."

Time and equipment donated by the Puget Sound Blood Center has made this contingency plan possible. After blood is drawn from Chai, it is transferred to the Blood Center where it is processed. This involves using a centrifuge to "spin down" whole blood and separate the plasma. The plasma is returned to the zoo where it is kept frozen. The Blood Center's Supervisor of Order Processing and Distribution, Jeannine Berger, notes that, "This procedure has helped thousands of local human babies over the years, and we're glad it can be done for Chai as well, in the event that the baby needs her plasma."

After more than six years of unsuccessful artificial insemination attempts on Chai, Woodland Park sent Chai in 1998 on a breeding loan to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. There, she bred with Onyx, a 38-year-old bull (male elephant) and recommended mate. After pregnancy was confirmed, Chai returned to Woodland Park last September. The gestation period is 22 months for elephants.

Chai's breeding loan was under the auspices of the Elephant Species Survival Plan administered by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Dickerson Park Zoo was selected for its extensive experience with visiting cows (female elephants) and breeding, and its groundbreaking research involving natural breeding and artificial insemination.

An aging population, a low rate of births, and an insufficient number of bulls have seriously jeopardized the population of elephants in North American zoos. Experts warn that unless a sensible reproductive management program is undertaken to address the low birth rate and age-related deaths, a viable elephant population cannot be sustained. Further, if cows are not bred by age 25, their reproductive potential becomes greatly diminished. With only about 300 Asian elephants in North America, about 30 of which are male, there exists a very small select group capable of breeding. Fort Worth Zoo studies predict that in less than 10 years, fewer than 50 elephants will have reproductive capabilities. This translates to an alarming less than one birth per year in North America.

To stabilize the perilously low numbers of elephants in captivity, there has been a resurgence in the interest of breeding elephants. "Our direct commitment to and involvement in an elephant breeding program is critical if we want to reverse this dire situation," adds Maluy. "The birth of Chai's calf will be a much-needed boost to the survival of Asian elephants." Only an estimated range of 35,000 Asian elephants is left in the wild. Moreover, zoos face greater restrictions in importing elephants from the wild.

As Chai's due date approaches, zookeepers are testing her progesterone levels daily. Once these levels drop below 100, the zoo will begin a 24-hour birth watch of the elephant. Zoo staff and volunteers will observe her around the clock through closed-circuit monitors set up in the elephant staff office and record all activity and behavior in order to detect the first signs of labor. To minimize stress to and assure optimum comfort for Chai, only essential staff will be allowed in the barn during labor and the birth.