ZooBorns

Longest Pregnancy Recorded, Smallest Baby Elephant Too!

A baby elephant was born after the longest pregnancy recorded at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo... and, to make matters more interesting, he is also the smallest baby ever recorded there.

After a whopping 700-day pregnancy, the newest addition to the zoo's Asian elephant herd was born at 12:15am on October 18. This is the third baby for experienced mum Azizah. The normal gestation period for an Asian elephant is 22 months but the new calf stayed put for nearly two years.

Despite this, the new calf, who has yet to be named, weighed in at just 228 pounds (104kg) at birth. Keepers were initially worried the pint-sized pachyderm would not be tall enough to reach his mum’s milk, but he quickly learnt to get on his tip-toes and has had no problem feeding.

Elephant keeper Lee Sambrook said: “Azizah took to him straightaway and the rest of the herd are so excited to be around the baby and touch it. Elephants are social animals and having youngsters joining the herd is what elephant life is about.”

The baby is venturing out of the elephant barn with the rest of the herd on warmer days, where visitors can see him outside in the paddock playing with his siblings and suckling his mum.

Photo Credit: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Have You 'Herd'? Baby Elephant Makes Three at San Diego Zoo

Umngani is a mom again at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The African elephant gave birth to a male calf at 5:45 a.m. Monday, September 26, making her the first elephant in this herd to give birth to three calves.

Umngani, her 5-year-old daughter, Khosi, and her 2-year-old son, Ingadze, can be seen by Safari Park visitors as they watch over the newest member of the family, who is as yet unnamed. Khosi, whose nickname is “the babysitter,” is living up to her reputation, proving to be a wonderful big sister! She keeps a watchful eye on the calf, making sure he doesn’t stray far from their mother. Khosi also places her body between the newborn calf and the rest of the curious elephant herd.

Umngani and her three calves will continue to bond in the upper yard, separate from the rest of the herd, while the newborn gets steady on his feet, learns to follow his mother closely, and has at least a full day of nursing to make him strong. The Safari Park is now home to 18 elephants: 8 adults and 10 youngsters.The adults were rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of Swaziland, where they faced being culled. 

Photo Credit: San Deigo Zoo

She Likes Pink: First Baby Elephant in Czech and Slovak Zoos

An Asian Elephant female named Rashmi was born on April 12, 2011 in Ostrava Zoo in the Czech Republic. She is the first ever elephant baby reared in Czech and Slovak zoos! Mom Joht is 44 years old and Calvin, the father, is 25 years old.

Baby Rashmi - which means "ray of light“- is very curious and self-confident, as proven by her recent efforts to start exploring the world around her. She even occasionally dares to leave her mother to go short distances when in the outdoor enclosure. Her first attempts to to hold and carry objects with her trunk is improving.

Photo Credit: Pavel Vlcek/Ostrava Zoo

One of Rashmi's favorite activities is bathing and chasing a ball. Both these toys bring Rashmi a lot of joy. She especially seems to like her pink baby pool.

 

"The fact, that the elephant rearing in Ostrava Zoo is succesful after almost 80 years of elephant breeding in former Czechoslovakia, is obviously a great success. It is the result of the long time effort and work of whole team of enthusiastic people, hundreds of negotiations, consultations and longlasting preparations.“ says Petr Čolas, director of Ostrava Zoo. Rashmi is the best known and most popular baby in the Czech Republicat the moment.

Third Baby Elephant Makes History in Indianapolis!

African Elephant Kubwa has given birth to her third calf, making history once again as the first African Elephant in the world to conceive and give birth successfully via artificial insemination three times. The newest member of the Indianapolis Zoo herd is a female born at on July 20 and weighing in at 238 lbs., a very good size for a baby African Elephant.

The calf nursed many times during the first day and Kubwa again demonstrated very good mothering instincts. As has been the case with all of her calves, the new little one initially needs a bit of help to reach the source of mom’s milk. Kubwa is a very tall elephant, so a small step stool arrangement has been used so the calf can step up with her two front legs and stretch up to nurse. It has worked very well in the past, and it appears our new, very lively little girl learned the trick quickly – trainers report she is nursing frequently!

Photo credits: Gabi Moore / Indianapolis Zoo

It's A Girl! Baby Asian Elephant Born at St. Louis Zoo

The Saint Louis Zoo announced the birth of a female Asian elephant on June 24, 2011, to mom Rani, who is 15 years old.

"Mother and baby are bonding very well," says Curator of Mammals Martha Fischer. "The baby appears healthy and is already walking around." The elephant care staff hasn't yet confirmed the weight or height, because Rani is being very protective of her newborn.

This is Rani's second baby and the third for Raja, the baby's father. Raja was the first elephant ever born at the Saint Louis Zoo. Now, at age 18, he has his own family, with daughter Maliha, born on August 2, 2006, and Rani's first daughter, Jade, born February 25, 2007.

"The River's Edge staff has been busy preparing for this particular baby for the past two years, says Fischer. "It's so rewarding to have made it to this day. We are all just overjoyed to have the baby with us and welcome a new member to our family."

Photo Credit: Katie Pilgram/Saint Louis Zoo

Important African Elephant Baby Born at Toledo Zoo

The Toledo Zoo is proud to announce that after a 22 month gestation, on Friday, June 2, Renee, one of their two female African elephants, gave birth to a male calf. The unnamed calf was born without assistance and appears to be healthy, weighing in at approximately 200 – 225 lbs. He stood within minutes of his birth and Renee is showing excellent maternal behavior. This is 32-year-old Renee's second baby. The first, Louie, celebrated his 8th birthday not long ago.  

Renee was artificially inseminated. The successful birth of Renee’s calf is vital to the zoo elephant population for several reasons.  The population of females is aging rapidly with a large percentage exceeding the prime breeding age for the species.  Captive breeding efforts are also hampered by a lack of breeding-age bulls and bulls that are of age but show no inclination toward breeding. However, through vigorous breeding efforts, it is hoped that the African elephant zoo population will have a strong future.


Photo Credits: Toledo Zoo/Andi Norman

Have a look at this beyond-cute video of the baby testing out his legs:

Bouncing Baby Bull Born to First-Time Mom

After a gestation period of 670 days, Munich's Tierpark Hellabrunn’s  9-year-old Indian elephant Temi gave birth to her first calf in the evening on Friday, May 6. The newest addition to the herd is a boy – called a bull – and he came into the world weighing 257 lbs (117 kilos)!

“We are overjoyed that Munich has a healthy baby elephant once more,” said Mayoress and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, Christine Strobl. Zoo Director, Dr Andreas Knierim added: “Although it’s her first baby, Temi is taking excellent care of her newborn son. It is beautiful to watch both of them.”

Photo Credit: courtesy of Teirpark Hellabrunn

Elephants are the largest terrestrial animals There are two species – African and Asian Elephants (Indian elephants like Tami are a subspecies of Asian elephants). Today, both are endangered. Twenty-five years ago there was approximately 1.3 million elephants in African alone, but now the estimate has sunk to close to 500,000. Even less are to be found in Asia.

Pool Time for the Houston Zoo's Young Elephants

Recently, Houston Zoo keepers gave Baylor and Tupelo a big kiddie pool. Now that Baylor weighs more than 1100 pounds and Tupelo weighs more than 600 pounds, the small, inflatable pools do not last longer than 5 minutes without getting popped. The babies now get a family size pool which is 120 inches in length and holds both calves. It is a lot more durable. This size pool lasts for about 5 uses before it has to be replaced. Playing in the pool is a fun enrichment activity for the babies and the pool is given to them when the weather allows.

Brand New Elephant Calf Born at San Diego Zoo!

Photo credits: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park had an African Elephant born yesterday in the dark early morning hours. The calf was born on exhibit in the presence of the other elephant moms and calves well before animal care staff arrived at 6 a.m.  Guests at the Safari Park on Monday could see the newborn in  an upper yard of the Elephant exhibit, where staff is keeping the calf, his mother and 3-year-old brother for overnight observation. Animal care staff expects that she and her two calves will return to the main exhibit Tuesday.

Record-breaking 5 Elephants Born in One Year!

It's a world record! On December 9, 2010, at 3:30am, Hannover Adventure Zoo welcomed its 5th Baby Elephant birth this year. According to the zoo, never before have five baby Asian Elephants been born in a zoo within a calendar year! "The tiny Elephant girl is doing well, as is mother Khaing Hnin Hnin, who gave birth to her fourth child unassisted by the zoo staff and without any complications at all. We are all extremely happy" said zoo director Klaus-Michael Machens. Mother and daughter will now be resting behind the scenes for a few days, getting to know each other as well as the rest of the Elephant family.

Photo and video credits: Hannover Zoo