Rose-Tu has finally given birth to a 300-pound calf at the Oregon Zoo! It’s great news, but you must be asking “why am I, an Arkansas girl, so excited about this?”

It’s easy: I’ll be heading to Portland in less than a week and I really want to see the baby Asian elephant. This is the second birth for 18-year-old Rose-Tu.

She first gave first four years ago and, despite difficulty adjusting, that baby was introduced to the public within a week. I’m hoping for a similar, if not quicker, time-frame for the new baby.

It’s actually a pretty fascinating event. The birth came after more than 30 hours of labor and 22 months of pregnancy. Yikes!

The new addition is the 28th baby elephant born at the Oregon Zoo, which is recognized for its successful breeding program for Asian elephants. According to the zoo, Asian elephants are considered highly endangered in their range countries due to habitat loss and conflict with humans. It’s estimated that fewer than 40,000 elephants remain from India to Borneo.