Two Columbus Zoo elephants are expecting in the coming months

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – It's an exciting time at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where not one, but two elephants are currently expecting.

Experienced mama Phoebe and first-time mom Sunny are due in the coming months, which has the animal care team on baby watch.

"We've never had this opportunity to even have the ability to have two baby elephants at the same time. We are all-in with sustainability and conservation of Asian elephants and I cannot wait," said Adam Felts, Senior Curator for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

With any pregnancy, it's a delicate balance of excitement, anticipation and specialized care, which these elephants are receiving around the clock.

"Fortunately, they are months apart, or at least four months apart," said Dr. Randy Junge, Columbus Zoo's Vice President of Animal Health. "If the babies have complications or the moms have complications, they can be really intensive cases. If you had two at the same time with complications, it could be really very difficult, but we're not anticipating any problems again both females are healthy."

Keeping them healthy and limber is a top priority for the elephant care team members like Laura Garcia, who, on this day, was leading Pheobe in her morning stretches. "We do call it elephant yoga, and we want to keep our elephants in shape, especially our pregnant and elephants," said Garcia.

The team also does regular blood draws and ultrasounds to monitor mom and baby's health.

"At this stage, the baby isn't changing much, we just want to monitor and make sure there aren't any changes," said Dr. Junge.

As the moms-to-be enter their birth windows this summer, the excitement is mounting for everyone.

"It's very exciting that people get excited about this with us because it is such a special experience," said Garcia.