Louisville Zoo's Baby African Elephant Scotty Has A Ball At His Birthday Party

By Kara Bussabarger 

Louisville, KY - Baby African elephant Scotty celebrated his second birthday today, March 21, in front of a large crowd gathered around Louisville Zoo’s elephant yard to commemorate the milestone.

Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson even deemed March 21 to be “Scotty the Elephant Day” in celebration of Scotty’s second birthday.

As the crowd sang “Happy Birthday,” Scotty, along with mom Mikki and aunt Punch, dashed to the specially-made birthday cake and gobbled up the Timothy hay, apples and carrots.
Scotty then studied his gift, a large plastic ball used for enrichment, before kicking and rolling it around.

“Scotty is a great elephant,” said Dave Campbell, Louisville Zoo’s Elephant Area Supervisor. “Turning 2 is a big deal, and we are very excited that the community came out to celebrate with us and see how much he has grown.”

Scotty weighed in at 1,800 pounds and measured 5 foot tall.

Scotty also demonstrated some of his training to the public, and other Zoo animals like the orangutans, camels and lions also celebrated the momentous occasion with special animal enrichment.

Scotty Background
Scotty was born March 18, 2007, at 8:45 p.m. at the Louisville Zoo. At birth, he weighed in at 285 pounds and was 37.5 inches tall. He is the first elephant born in Kentucky and the Zoo’s 40-year history.
He currently likes to play with tree branches and his favorite treat is bananas.

The Louisville Zoo, a non-profit organization and state zoo of Kentucky, is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education. The Zoo is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).