Raw video: Naming the baby elephant| Click to watch raw video of baby elephant

The call went out for names and thousands of you responded.

For weeks, KHOU.com readers voted on what to name one of the Houston Zoo’s newest residents, a baby elephant.

The choices were Colossus, Guinness, Sunar, Janu and Mac.

After all the votes were counted, Mac won out.

The Houston Zoo revealed the name Wednesday.

Overall 8,523 votes were cast, with Mac winning by better than 31 percent.

The Houston Zoo proudly awards the Pachyderm Prize Pack to Dawn Turbes!

Dawn’s prize pack includes: a one-year Houston Zoo Family Membership, a Keeper of the Animals Adopt Kit for Thai (the baby’s proud father) and a private behind-the-scenes tour of our elephant exhibit with one of our fine zookeepers.

Mac calls the elephant exhibit home and you can hear keeper chats at 1:30 p.m. daily.

Here’s how the voting figures broke down:

Colossus                  623           7.30%

Guinness                1664         19.52%

Sundar                    1343         15.75%

Janu                        2224          26%

 Mac                        2669          31.31%

KHOU - TV

Here is some background on the “little guy” that you helped name: He was born October 1, 2006 at 4:30 a.m. and he’s the largest baby elephant birth on record.

“He’s a real 4 by 4. He measures 40 inches from his head to his rump and he stands 40 inches tall,” said Zoo Director Rick Barongi on the day of the birth. “He’s a big strong boy and the largest elephant calf ever delivered in a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.”

The average weight of a newborn elephant is about 200 pounds.

Shanti, the zoo’s 15-year-old Asian elephant, was pregnant for 22 months in which she received plenty of tender loving care.

More than 50 volunteers and Zoo staff began a seven-day a week, 24-hour birth watch in late July. Utilizing a closed-circuit television system, the birth watch team observed and documented Shanti’s behavior. When blood tests indicated Shanti’s progesterone level had fallen to a low baseline level, the team began watching for signs indicating that she might begin labor soon.

Immediately after the calf was born, the Zoo’s veterinary team performed a neonatal exam. “We weighed the calf and took a blood sample.” said Houston Zoo Senior Veterinarian Dr. Joe Flanagan. “After 690 days of extremely hard work, we are very excited to finally see this big, beautiful, healthy calf,” said Zoo Elephant Supervisor Martina Stevens.

Shanti has bonded well with her son thanks in part to the hard work of the animal keeper staff.

Thai, the baby’s father, is 41 years old.

The baby elephant calls the elephant exhibit home and you can hear zookeeper chats at 1:30 p.m. daily.

Asian elephants are herbivores that can grow up to 21 feet long, stand up to 10 feet tall and weigh up to 11,000 pounds. Females reach about eight and a half feet tall and weigh less than males. Amazingly, despite their weight, they are able to walk silently. The Asian elephant is the second largest land mammal in the world and one of the most intelligent animals on earth.  Unfortunately, it is also one of the world’s most endangered species.

Approximately 300 Asian elephants currently live in North American zoos; however, a number of factors are seriously jeopardizing their sustainability: a rapidly aging population and age-related deaths, low birth rates and an insufficient number—less than 30—of breeding bulls (male elephants).

Also, if cows (female elephants), are not bred by age 25, their reproductive ability is immensely diminished. In the wild, Asian elephants may live up to about 60 years; however, most do not live that long.

Fortunately for the endangered species, there has been a resurgence among zoos to bolster breeding efforts to help stabilize the population. 

The Houston Zoo’s Asian elephant breeding program falls under the auspices of the Elephant Species Survival Plan administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

At the turn of the 20^th century, more than 100,000 elephants roamed their native habitat. Today, only 35,000 remain in the wild—scattered among pockets of Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Decades of war, an explosive human population growth and intensive agriculture continue to shrink their once abundant territories, leaving them prone to poaching and starvation.

Consequently, the gene pool for future generations of elephants is in a dire situation.