The first elephant at the Audubon Zoo was purchased in 1924 with donations from the school children of New Orleans and other generous citizens. The baby elephant was named “Itema” by virtue of the fact that the fundraising campaign was sponsored by the New Orleans Item newspaper.
The nine-year old Itema was photographed by John T. Mendes in late 1925 when she had been gaining weight, around 100 pounds every month. Easy to do when you eat thirty loaves of bread a day.
An additional $2,875 was raised for the construction of the brick elephant house seen in the background, completed in May of 1925. At the same time, the Young Men’s Business Club donated funds for the purchase of two buffalo.
Itema was the monarch of the Audubon Zoo for 39 years until her death in November 1960.
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