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Portland’s favorite little elephant is growing up.
Tula-Tu, the Oregon Zoo’s 1-year-old Asian elephant who has stolen the hearts of many, now weighs over 1,300 pounds—more than double her weight earlier this year, according to the zoo.
She has also graduated to a bigger ball, just in time for the World Cup.
Tula-Tu’s newest supersized toy has a 4-foot diameter and is built to withstand an elephant’s kicks. “We’re big on enrichment here — literally,” Steve Lefave, who oversees the zoo’s elephant care program, said.
Zoo staff say Tula-Tu has shown a playful streak since birth, and was always destined for the soccer pitch.
Last summer, she impressed visitors by dribbling a watermelon with shockingly skilled footwork. In the fall, she stole the show at the Oregon Zoo’s annual Squishing of the Squash celebration by kicking around a smaller pumpkin after the event’s bigger gourds proved too heavy for her.
“Much like the World Cup stars, the young elephant has delighted and inspired fans around the world,” Lefave said.
When Tula-Tu was born on Feb. 1, 2025, she weighed a measly 200 pounds, the smallest of mother Rose-Tu’s other calves. Tula-Tu’s older brother, Samudra, weighed 286 pounds at birth, and her sister, Lily, who died suddenly in 2018, was about 300 pounds.
Adult Asian elephants like Rose-Tu eat between 165 and 330 pounds every day, according to the zoo. Tula-Tu is still nursing, but she also experiments with solid foods such as fruits, vegetables, and hay.
“While 1,300 pounds might sound like a lot, it’s still small for an elephant,” Lefave said. “Her mom weighs over 7,500 pounds, and her dad is over 10,000, so Tula still has a lot of growing to do.”
While Tula-Tu still has a lot of growing to do, she’s already destined for the big leagues.
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