A playful elephant at the Oregon Zoo is warming hearts with the celebratory swim he took on his birthday.
Samudra, one of five Asian elephants at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, turned 15 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, according to the zoo’s news release.
The teen elephant celebrated his birthday by splashing around and swimming in the 160,000-gallon pool that’s built into the Oregon Zoo’s Elephant Lands exhibit, the zoo announced.
Currently, Samudra weighs around 10,000 pounds.
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And he’s still growing, according to the zoo.
Samudra’s caretakers believe he’ll put on another ton or two in the next few decades.
"It’s amazing to see him getting so big," said Steve Lefave, lead curator for elephants at the Oregon Zoo, in a statement.
"He’s much more mature and confident now, but he’s still got that playfulness that he’s had ever since he was a baby," Lefave also said.
"Watching him splash in the pool or roll around in the mud, the word that comes to mind is ‘exuberance.’"
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Social media users have been sending Samudra plenty of good wishes as photos of his birthday pool party go viral on various platforms.
"Happy birthday from Springfield. I love to watch you play in the water," a Facebook user wrote on Thursday.
"How exciting!! Happy 15th birthday, Samudra," a user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday. "Here’s to many more years to come."
"Happy birthday, handsome boy! You are so loved," a YouTube commenter wrote.
Asian elephants have an average lifespan of about 48 years, but the world’s oldest Asian elephant on record lived to be 89, according to AZ Animals, an online animal encyclopedia.
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The ages of Samudra’s elephant companions at the Oregon Zoo — Sung-Surin, Samson, Chendra and Rose-Tu — range between 28 and 40, making him the youngest of the herd.
Asian elephants are considered highly endangered in the wild and have a population that’s estimated to be between 40,000 to 50,000, according to the Oregon Zoo.
The species is traditionally found in forest and grassland habitats throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia.
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The Oregon Zoo cites habitat loss, disease and conflicts with humans as reasons for the decline of Asian elephants.
Samudra and his elephant companions are part of the Oregon Zoo’s Species Survival Plan for Asian elephants.
It's a program that supports the conservation, health and genetic diversity of Asian elephants.
Samudra’s birth made national news in 2008 when he became the first third-generation elephant born from an American zoo, according to the Oregon Zoo.
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The teenage elephant last went viral in May 2023 when he frolicked in the same pool.
See the video at the top of this article.
