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At about 3m tall, weighing a whopping 3.5 tonnes and with tusks almost 1.5m long, Chawang the Asian bull elephant is a majestic figure.
Both his tusks are symmetrically crossed at their tips, a rare feature that makes Chawang all the more special. No other zoo is known to have male elephants with such a feature.
An orphaned elephant, the Malaysian Wildlife Authorities rescued him in Malaysia, near Perak's Sungei Chawang - hence his name. He was only six years old when he arrived in Singapore Zoo in December 1983. He has since fathered three elephants.
Chawang was transferred to Night Safari when the attraction opened in 1994.
And while undoubtedly a star now at the Night Safari, Chawang has a bit of a dark past.
In 2001, he made news when he suddenly attacked Mr Gopal Krishnan, goring his keeper of 18 years. Mr Gopal suffered fractured ribs and a punctured lung. Till this day, it remains a mystery why Chawang did what he did.
While there was a plan to send Chawang to another zoo, one with bigger facilities to house a big bull elephant, the plan fell through and he remained here.
And despite nearly losing his life to Chawang, Mr Gopal returned to take care of Chawang in 2005, showing the deep affection he has for the elephant.
Eventually, the zoo made a decision to provide Chawang with a larger home and also to engage an animal behaviour consultant to retrain him. The non-contact elephant training method involved using a two-metre long pole with a ball at the end to touch the parts of Chawang's body that a keeper wanted him to move and to indicate the spots he should move to.
Each time Chawang showed the right behaviour, he was rewarded with treats and praises.
Chawang now lives in a vast habitat in the Night Safari. With his status as a stud - a German veterinarian had described Chawang's semen as "beautiful and healthy" - he will continue to father more baby elephants in the years to come and contribute to the captive breeding of the endangered Asian elephant.
What do you think?
Would Chawang be your choice?
Have your say and vote for your next Singapore Zoo icon this weekend on AsiaOne.
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