SEATTLE - One night after the Oscars, another envelope was opened and the highly anticipated winner announcedä And the winner is: Hansa (HUN-suh), meaning "supreme happiness" in Thai. At an exclusive party tonight at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Mayor Paul Schell officially announced the grand prize winning name for the zoo's 4-month-old, female Asian elephant. The winning name culminated a statewide sweepstakes that invited the community to submit names of Thai origin.

Madison Gordon from Redmond, Washington received the rare honor of naming the first-ever elephant born at the zoo and in the state of Washington. The 7-year-old girl wins a trip for two to Thailand plus a "meet and greet" with the baby elephant for four. Gordon and the nine finalists were held in suspense until the winner was declared. They attended the party along with sweepstakes sponsors— Western Washington Bartell Drugs, Western Washington McDonald's, The Boeing Company, Thai Airways International and KING 5 TV7—local political officials and other special guests.

The sweepstakes drew 16,000 entries, a record-breaking number ever submitted to name an animal at the zoo. An independent audit company received and processed each entry to ensure that every person who entered had an equal chance to win. Ten finalists were randomly selected from the eligible entries, followed by an evaluation by a judging panel that included zoo elephant keepers and officials from Thai Airways.

The semi-finalists were randomly selected for the remaining prizes, including a framed photo print of the baby elephant photographed and signed by world-renowned photographer Art Wolfe, year-round family zoo memberships, a commemorative elephant poster signed by the zoo's elephant keepers and a $100 Bartell Drugs shopping certificate.

Among the names were: Leknung (LEK-nung), "number one"; Ratana (RAH-tuh-NUH), "jewel"; and Kamala (GAHM-uh-LAH), "of the heart." The finalists, ranging from age 7 to 68 years old, were all from the Greater Puget Sound area.

Since the elephant's birth on November 3, 2000, the elephant calf has captivated hundreds of thousands of people from throughout the state and North America and around the world. "It seemed very fitting to give her a name that reflected the impact she's had on so many lives—pure happiness," says Zoo Director Mike Waller.

The zoo's elephant keepers are especially excited. "A name helps in giving a reference point when working with an animal," notes Pat Maluy (mail-YOU), senior keeper of elephants. "A name also adds individuality to this precious animal that has come to symbolize hope for the endangered Asian elephant populations in both zoos and in the wild," adds Maluy.

The elephant calf represents the first offspring for 22-year-old Chai (rhymes with "shy"). After six years of unsuccessful artificial insemination attempts on Chai, Woodland Park Zoo sent her on a breeding loan in 1998 to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. Following a successful mating effort with her intended mate, 36-year-old Onyx, the pregnant elephant returned to Woodland Park in 1999 and gave birth last fall after a 22-month gestation period.

Among the distinguished guests at the party were Mr. Chatrachai Bunya-ananta, former chairman of Thai Airways who flew in from Thailand; and Mr. Clancy Wilde, former senior vice president of The Boeing Company. Today they reunited with their namesakes, Chai and 21-year-old Sri ("see"). In 1980 and 1981, Thai Airways and Seattle's sister city, Bangkok, Thailand, presented the two 1-year-old Asian elephants to commemorate the delivery of Thai's first Boeing 747.

Hansa, who weighed 235 pounds at birth, gains about three pounds a day and currently weighs about 620 pounds. She and other members of the zoo's elephant herd are on view during regular zoo hours from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.