KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's only Bornean elephant at the Oregon Zoo in Portland is pregnant and due to give birth next year.
Sabah Wildlife Department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said the state always hoped, it was Chendra would have its own family and raise a calf of her own.
"It is a chance for her to have a complete life like, after all she had been through, we could not ask for anything more," Sen was quoted in an article on the zoo's website.
In 1999, the state government reached out to the Oregon Zoo to be a home for the then young elephant Chendra.
The orphaned calf was found near a palm oil plantation in Sabah with wounds on her front legs and left eye, leaving her blind in that eye.
The zoo recently found out about the pregnancy when they were conducting a routine tuberculosis test.
Chendra's pregnancy at the age of 26 is considered as nearing the outer age limit for first-time elephant moms.
The gestation period for elephants is around 22 months. It is believed that Chendra conceived sometime in January.
"The father of the baby is an Asian elephant from Thailand.
"When she gives birth to the calf, the (Oregon) zoo will keep it," he told the New Straits Times.
In the meantime, Chendra is being housed separately to ensure she and the rest of the elephant family remain healthy and safe.
The Oregon Zoo is recognised worldwide for its Asian elephant program, which has spanned more than 60 years.
Asian elephants are threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans and disease in which there are only 40,000 to 50,000 elephants remaining in fragmented populations from India to Borneo.