Endangered elephant turns one thanks to dedicated keeper care

We're celebrating the first birthday of Zaiya, the endangered Asian elephant calf whose extraordinary first year has seen her receive 2,686 specialist feeds and over 8000 hours of personal commitment from her carers, while remaining firmly at the heart of her herd.

When Zaiya was born on Tuesday 2nd September 2025, the team quickly realised she was unable to successfully suckle from first-time mum, Tara.

What followed was an incredible, year-long commitment that saw the team sacrifice a lot of time away from their own families to ensure Zaiya received the essential care that was fundamental to her survival.

Involving more than 30 staff across several departments, this included specialist nutritional support, round-the-clock monitoring, procurement, veterinary support and thousands of individual feeds.

One year on and Zaiya is a confident, inquisitive young elephant who has learned how to behave, communicate and navigate the world by watching the elephants around her. She doesn't follow the keepers who feed her, she follows the herd.

Adam Kenyon, Section Manager here at Blackpool Zoo, said: “Zaiya's first weeks were among the most challenging we have faced as a team. We had to make decisions about what would give her the best chance of survival while also considering Tara, the other elephants and Zaiya’s future as a member of the herd.

“Our plan was delivered consistently with minimal disruption to the group's natural behaviour, so we provided the nutrition Zaiya needed without replacing the role of her elephant family.

“Zaiya always wants to know where her mum is and has retained a distinctive comfort behaviour of putting her trunk into Tara’s mouth since birth.

“Her relationships with the rest of the herd are equally important. They benefit the calf and help younger or less experienced females develop maternal behaviours and Zaiya has become part of a wider social system rather than relying solely on Tara, which is wonderful to see.

“When you look at Zaiya now, one of the things that makes us most proud is that if you were a visitor and didn’t know her story, you would never know the amount of effort that has taken place over the past 12 months.”

Over the course of her first year, Zaiya has been developing her own personality. Keepers describe her as intelligent, inquisitive and highly aware.

She investigates objects by rolling them around, enjoys sand bathing and chasing birds and is keen to try whatever the adult elephants are eating.

When she gets excited, she raises her trunk and tail, opens her ears and trumpets and can also be seen launching into energetic bursts of movement that her keepers affectionately describe as elephant zoomies.

Zaiya can often be seen snoozing while standing up with her trunk swaying and when she does lie down to take a nap she is very closely watched by either Tara or matriarch Noorjahan.

Elephant herds are highly social and female elephants help care for calves that are not their own in a practice known as allomothering. Zaiya interacts with all the herd and recently had a very positive first meeting with her father, Emmett.

The female herd consists of Tara, Zaiya, Minbu, Noorjahan, Esha and Kate. Zaiya seeks out the second youngest of the group, Esha, for fun and playing and looks to Noorjahan, alongside mum Tara, for reassurance and learning.

Darren Webster, Zoo Director here at Blackpool Zoo, added: “Zaiya’s first year has been an extraordinary journey and a testament to the expertise and dedication of our teams.

“More than 30 people have played a role in supporting Zaiya, but the most important thing is that she has been able to remain a fully integrated member of the herd throughout. Everything they do relates to her. She is their world, as it absolutely should be.

“It hasn’t been easy for our teams, especially in the early days when she needed feeding every two to three hours, but their commitment has been incredible.

“To see Zaiya now, one year on, confident, curious and completely part of the group is something we are extremely proud of.”

Asian elephants have been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1986 and the population is estimated to have declined by at least 50 percent over the last three generations.

Our herd of elephants is part of an EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP), which serves as crucial lifelines for ensuring the survival of endangered species.