Zoo’s spring birth is a jumbo heavyweight
Wednesday 28 April 2010
He’s heavy and he’s leggy, he’s the new elephant calf at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo – kicking off the spring season at the Bedfordshire zoo.
© Hannah Thompson
The lanky youngster is amusing his keepers by squeezing under new mum Karishma to reach his milk, but he is already showing a determined streak.
The pint-sized pachyderm, still to be named, was born just after midnight on Monday 12 April. One of the tallest babies at Whipsnade, the youngster is more than 3ft tall and weighs a healthy 124kg (almost 20 stone). Adult elephants can weigh over 800st.
First-time mother Karishma, age 12, wowed her keepers with her calmness at the overnight birth, which they watched on monitors from a safe distance away.
Deputy team leader Andy Durham, who has known Karishma since she was a baby, said: “She surprised us all and was excellent from the word 'go'. When the calf first came out she just seemed amazed to have her own baby. She’s fantastic with it.”
The youngster has spent her early days getting to know the other elephants in the herd, including half sister Donna who is nine-months-old, while enjoying the Spring sunshine in the seven-acre elephant paddock.
See baby
Make the most of the sunshine by visiting our not so little bundle of joy. Visitors to ZSL Whipsnade Zoo can see the baby with the rest of our Asian elephant herd.
Book tickets now
Adopt mum
Treat a friend, maybe your mum, by adopting new mum Karishma. They get a free e-ticket to visit mother and baby and you get a warm feeling inside, knowing that you have helped ZSL to continue to conserve endangered animals, including Asian elephants, and their habitats around the world.
Find out more about adopting Karishma
