Zoo welcomes rare baby elephant

A RARE Asian elephant has been born at Chester Zoo.

The unnamed female calf was born to 12-year-old mother Sundara on Friday night after a 22-month gestation.

Keepers at the zoo said both mother and daughter were doing well.

The calf is the 19th elephant to be born at Chester Zoo in its 85year history and brings the current size of its herd to seven.

Five, including the new calf, are part of the same family called the Hi Ways.

Elephants are born into captivity in the UK only once or twice a year.

Keepers at the zoo watched the birth remotely via closed-circuit television cameras so as not to disturb the herd.

The calf ’s name will be decided in the coming days.

Richard Fraser, assistant team manager of elephants at Chester Zoo, said: “The arrival of a calf is a great family occasion for the elephant herd and brings the whole group together.

“As soon as Sundara began showing early signs of labour, you could see the rest of the family knew something special was about to happen.

“This was Sundara’s second pregnancy and the birth was pretty much perfect.

“She delivered her calf on to soft sand with all the family gathered around.

“Sundara then gave her a series of little kicks to gently stimulate and encourage her to her feet.”