The votes are in: baby elephant at Indianapolis Zoo has a new name

John Tufts, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·2 min read

UPDATE: The polls closed Monday and zoo officials announced their newest elephant calf has a name — Jabari.

The naming contest brought in more than 8,000 votes from people all over the world, zoo officials said on social media. In Swahili, Jabari means fearless or brave, officials said, a good description for the curious calf.

You can see Jabari with his mom, Zahara, in the Plains area.

Original article:

We need to address the elephant in the room — no, really — the adorable one born a month ago at the Indianapolis Zoo needs a name, and zoo officials are asking the public to help them select one.

African elephant Zahara gave birth to a healthy 262-pound male calf on Sept. 4, making it a very special Labor Day.

The calf's birth was a history-making moment, the zoo announced, as the first elephant in the world (African or Asian) to be born through artificial insemination to a mother who also was born through the same procedure.

On Wednesday, zoo officials invited the public to help select the calf's name in an online contest by selecting one of three options:

  • Maji (Water)

  • Jabari (Fearless or Brave)

  • Zambezi (Great River)

Each name is of African descent, zoo officials said, like the elephant's mother and all elephants at the Indianapolis Zoo. Zahara's calf is the seventh elephant to be born at the zoo and begins the third generation of the elephant herd.

To vote on which name is best, zoo officials provided a link at: https://contest.app.do/indianapolis-zoo-baby-elephant-naming-contest

Officials said the naming contest will end Oct. 16 and the winning name will be revealed that same day.

You can see Zahara and her baby elephant at the Indianapolis Zoo, 1200 West Washington St., during regular zoo hours, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mon-Tues, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Wed-Thu and Sun, and 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Fri-Sat.

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John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Baby elephant at Indianapolis Zoo gets a name