The National Zoo said Monday that one of its Asian elephants is pregnant and could give birth within the next few months, potentially bringing the zoo its first elephant calf in 25 years.

The zoo has had only two elephant births in its 136-year history. The last was in 2001.

The pregnant elephant, Nhi Linh, 12, is due early next year, the zoo said.

“The birth of an elephant is such an incredible, special thing,” said the zoo’s director, Brandie Smith. “We are going to have an opportunity to celebrate that miracle.”

“Asian elephants are critically endangered, so every single elephant makes a difference in the world,” Smith said in a telephone interview Friday.

The happiness has been tempered, though, because the zoo had hoped to welcome two calves. Nhi Linh’s mother, Trong Nhi, 22, had

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