Baby Elephant born at Chester Zoo in UK Britain

🔹 INFORMATION 🔹

Zoo keepers announce the birth of a rare Asian calf at Chester Zoo in Britain. The proud mom, 22 year old Sundara gave birth to her female calf after a 22 month gestation. As reported in the Guardian newspaper, Richard Fraser, assistant team manager of elephants at Chester Zoo, says: “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 … Minutes later, the new arrival was up and standing and making her first attempts to suckle." “There’s always a lot of excitement among the elephants whenever there’s a birth … It’s a hugely positive event for the herd.” In Britain elephants are born into captivity only once or twice a year. There are only between 35,000 and 40,000 Asian elephants in the wild. They are listed as endangered. Chester Zoo was opened in 1931and has a total area of approximately 400 acres. The zoological park was the first UK zoo to successfully breed Asian elephants in captivity. The zoo has a breeding herd of six elephants, one male and five females. Katie Butler, a reporter for the Manchester Evening News, visited Chester Zoo after the birth of the calf. She says: , "Chester Zoo is part of a breeding program coordinated by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums that is focused on sustaining the elephant population in Europe." "Conservationists from the zoo have been working in Assam, India, for more than a decade on projects which are helping to protect wild elephants and the people who live with them. The zoo now hopes their latest arrival can help raise more awareness of the species - and the threats they are facing." Cheshire, England UK December 16, 2016