Freshly scrubbed and primped for his grand entrance at the appointed moment yesterday morning - exactly 10 minutes before 10 - the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore's baby elephant was introduced to his public, not at all fazed by the crowd thrilled to catch their first glimpse of the scampering calf.
Along with the camera flashes and cries of "there he is," the pint-sized pachyderm got something else - a name. More than 1,600 names were submitted and more than 12,000 people voted, choosing the biblical name Samson for the first African elephant born at the zoo in its 132-year history.
"Can I take him home?" said docent Emily Miller with a laugh. She drove 55 miles from her home in Frederick on her day off, just to see Samson's first outing.
Samson never strayed far from his mother, Felix, who came to the zoo in December from Arkansas and gave birth March 19. The baby seemed so small, many marveled yesterday, but when you're standing next to a mom who weighs in at more than 7,000 pounds, 340 pounds - and gaining 2 1/2 pounds a day - can seem downright petite.
The dark gray elephant explored an old tire with his trunk, then moved closer to the crowd, curling his trunk around one of the slats in the fence. His adoring fans lapped it up.
"I'd love to say we taught him all that," said Mike McClure, the zoo's general curator and elephant manager, "but he's a natural."
Within a few minutes of being set loose in the outdoor exhibit, Samson tried to climb onto a large boulder, placing his two front legs atop it. McClure tapped on those legs, imploring the little guy to get down so he wouldn't get hurt. Samson complied, but when McClure turned his head, the elephant was again trying to scale that rock, showing he's more of a "Sammy" right now than a full-grown "Samson."
"He's exactly like a toddler," McClure said. "They test things and experiment. They want to explore everything."
Politicians and other dignitaries on hand for speeches and proclamations were quickly upstaged when Samson emerged.
Zoo officials hope that Samson - along with a new giraffe feeding exhibit, a baby camel coming this summer and the return of the African aviary this year - will revive the struggling institution, which has been threatened with the loss of its accreditation because of financial troubles.
"We think it's going to help with more people coming through the doors," said zoo President Donald P. Hutchinson. "This baby will be a baby for a while, and it's fun to watch."
