Samson
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo) in United States

Biography

♂ Samson

Identification

SSP nr	514

Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Male ♂ 27 years old
Management:	Protected contact
Origin
Born:	* 1998-05-04 captive-born
Birth place:	in African Lion Safari (Ontario)

Parents:	♂ Calvin (Chanda) x ♀ Kitty (Mookee)
Offspring
Total: 3 babies

1. Born 2013-08-05	♂ Bowie SSP id: 758

2. Born 2013-10-02 (dead † 2022-01-02)	♀ Jazmine SSP id: 759

3. Born 2018-05-04 (dead † 2021-12-25)	♂ Thorn SSP id: 00
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo), in United States

Date of arrival

2018-04-10	Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo) from Albuquerque Biological Park

2003-11-19	Albuquerque Biological Park from African Lion Safari (Ontario)

Record history
History of updates	2025-02-08: text, latest birth. 2025-03-17:

Latest document update	2020-10-18 06:25:24

Biography

Samson is a living Male ♂ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) , located at the Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo), in United States.

Samson arrived in 2018-04-10 to the Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo), relocated from the Albuquerque Biological Park, in United States.

Social

Samson lives together with 5 other elephants at the Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo): (detailed list)

♀ Chendra born 1993
♀ Rose-Tu (twin) born 1994-08-31
♂ Sam (Samudra) born 2008-08-23
♀ Sung-Surin (Shine) born 1982-12-26
♀ Valentina born 2025-02-01

Offspring

Total: 3 babies

(M) 2013-08-05 Bowie SSP id: 758
(F) 2013-10-02 -- † 2022-01-02 Jazmine SSP id: 759
(M) 2018-05-04 -- † 2021-12-25 Thorn SSP id: 00

Origin

Samson was born captive-born 1998-05-04 at African Lion Safari (Ontario).

Parentage

Parents of Samson are: ♂ Calvin (Chanda) (father) and ♀ Kitty (Mookee) (mother).

Siblings through the father Calvin (Chanda):

1998-07-30 -- † 1999-03-22 (F) Annie
1998-08-21 -- † 2002-08-08 (M) Amos
1998-11-29(M) Albert
1999-10-21(M) George
2001-04-29(M) Johnson
2001-11-25(M) Kandula
2003-02-02(F) Califa
2003-03-20(F) Farina
2005-10-28(M) Tarak
2008-05-06(M) Shanti
2011-03-11 -- † 2011-05-06 (M) Sethi
2011-04-12(F) Rashmi
2014-02-04 -- † 2016-01-23 (F) Sumitra (OST Nr.3)
2017-07-08(M) Chandru

Siblings through the mother Kitty (Mookee):

1993-05-02(M) Nikolai
2001-04-29(M) Johnson
2006-04-23(F) Emily

Pedigree

**Samsons ancestral Pedigree:**
P	I	II	III
Samson	Sire (f): Calvin (Chanda) Born: 1986-08-11	Sire ff: Bandara Born: 1975-05-25	Sire fff:
		Sire ff: Bandara Born: 1975-05-25	Dame ffm:
		Dame fm: Kamala Born: 1975-09-00	Sire fmf:
		Dame fm: Kamala Born: 1975-09-00	Dame fmm:
	Dame m: Kitty (Mookee) Born: 1965	Sire mf: Born:	Sire mff:
		Sire mf: Born:	Dame mfm:
		Dame mm: Born:	Sire mmf:
		Dame mm: Born:	Dame mmm:

Comments / pictures

In November 2003, African Lion Safari sold two five year old male elephants, Albert and Samson, to the Rio Grande Zoo.

Daizy, making history in September 2009 as the first calf born at the Rio Grande Zoo, was the result of Artificial insemination with sperm from three donors. Albert and Samson from the Rio Grande Zoo in addition to Sneezy from the Tulsa Zoo. Following a DNA test from collected blood samples, Albert was determined to be the father.

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Samson, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Portland Zoo (Metro Washington Park Zoo) in United States. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 29 March 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1760. (archived at the Wayback machine)