Oklahoma City Zoo’s Asian Elephant Pregnant Again

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Another baby elephant is expected at the Oklahoma City Zoo.

Officials say Asha, an 18-year-old Asian elephant, is expecting her second baby calf. The zoo used ultrasound images and blood hormone analysis to confirm the happy news, and the zoo estimates that Asha is about 7 months pregnant.

But the baby isn’t coming anytime soon. The average gestation for elephants is 22 months, so the big bundle of joy is due sometime around December 2014.

The zoo’s director of veterinary services, Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino, says it’s still early on but they’re "cautiously optimistic" about the pregnancy.

Asha’s first calf, Malee, was born April 15, 2011, weighing 304 pounds.

Asha was born at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo., and has been in Oklahoma City since 1998.