RIP Mac Janu
This was such a sad day for zoo keepers, guests and for me and my nephew. Mac Janu, the 2-year old Asian elephant born at the Houston Zoo in October 2006 passed away last night after a brief bout with the elephant herpes virus. His mother Shanti and beloved Aunt Methai were with him. He laid down underneath his mother and passed. Shanti and Methai were given time to grieve with Mac, and they said they did all night long.
We've followed Mac's progress since, well before he was even born. We visit the zoo 7 or 8 times a year and always spend a good part of of our time watching Mac interacting with Shanti and his Aunt Methai. Aaron even likened us to Mac and his Aunt Methai because we're so close. We celebrated Mac's 1st and 2nd birthdays at a big party at the zoo. His 2nd birthday party was just a week ago. He was always so active and entertaining. The zoo and PBS made a documentary about Shanti's pregnancy and Mac's birth. It's a program that we watch over and over again. I can't even count the number of photos and videos we've made of Mac over the past 2 years. I'm actually thinking about putting them all on a DVD and taking to Mac's primary keeper in the next months.
We've followed Mac's progress since, well before he was even born. We visit the zoo 7 or 8 times a year and always spend a good part of of our time watching Mac interacting with Shanti and his Aunt Methai. Aaron even likened us to Mac and his Aunt Methai because we're so close. We celebrated Mac's 1st and 2nd birthdays at a big party at the zoo. His 2nd birthday party was just a week ago. He was always so active and entertaining. The zoo and PBS made a documentary about Shanti's pregnancy and Mac's birth. It's a program that we watch over and over again. I can't even count the number of photos and videos we've made of Mac over the past 2 years. I'm actually thinking about putting them all on a DVD and taking to Mac's primary keeper in the next months.